


Paging (Student) Dr. Swan

by xtrashhmagicx



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Idiots in Love, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Lesbian Sex, Medical School, Smut, Teacher-Student Relationship, all the feels, neurology, so many feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:00:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 46,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25603954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtrashhmagicx/pseuds/xtrashhmagicx
Summary: Emma Swan has been dreaming of becoming a doctor since she was a kid. Her only focus for the past few years has been getting into the school of her dreams, and then entering a residency as a practicing physician. What happens when she meets a gorgeous attending physician who just happens to be her anatomy professor? Will she be able to focus on her goals, or will everything come crashing down?
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan
Comments: 100
Kudos: 276





	1. Meet-Cute

**Author's Note:**

> based (very) loosely on the massive crush I had on my anatomy professor during my first year of med school
> 
> I honestly don't know where this is going to go yet and im about to start my second year of med school, so updates will be very sporadic I'm sorry :(

Emma Swan was running late. It’s not that this was a rare occurrence, absolutely not. Emma was late to just about everything and has been all her life: dentist appointments, birthday parties, dates, a funeral that one time which was just as embarrassing as it sounds, baby showers, you name it. It wasn’t that she didn’t care about punctuality; it was just that something _always_ went wrong. A spilled cup of coffee on a white shirt, misplaced car keys, running out of gas on the interstate, a cop who decided she was a menace to society for going five miles per hour over the speed limit, or basically any other minor annoyance that just happened to occur before she was supposed to be somewhere at a certain time. Today, it was trying to remember just where the hell she put the badge with her name and picture on it that gave her access to certain doors. Now, any other day, this would just be a small setback. But today was different. Today, Emma Swan was late to her first day of medical school, or as she liked to quote the great Alex Karev from her favorite television show, the first day of the rest of her life. And yet here she was, late for the day she’d been dreaming about since she was a kid. Once she found her damn badge, she all but ran the mile from her apartment to the medical school, housed inside the academic hospital in Boston.

Emma stood in front of the door to the auditorium, debating on just dropping out right then and there. Maybe she could even get an eighty-percent refund on her tuition for backing out on the first day. Emma shook her head and almost turned around to wait for a scheduled class break before entering, when she suddenly felt a presence beside her.

“Lost?” a voice asked from her side. Emma looked over and _good god almighty maybe I’m a believer,_ because the woman the voice belonged to was the most beautiful creature she had ever laid her eyes on. She was staring at Emma, her red lips tilting upwards in a smirk and a perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised, waiting on Emma’s response. But Emma couldn’t remember how to form words with her mouth, because she was still taking in the woman’s glossy shoulder length black hair, tanned skin, and brown eyes that she just knew would look like molten lava when the sun hit them. To top it all off, she was wearing a fitted black pencil skirt, silky red blouse, and four-inch heels under her medium length white coat.

“Are you alright, dear?” the woman asked, her face morphing into a look of concern over Emma's lack of response. Emma realized she probably looked like she was having a stroke...or maybe a seizure. Emma didn’t really know how to describe it because, you know, student.

“Uh…I- I-…yeah I’m good,” Emma replied lamely.

“So, you’re not lost?” the woman didn't look convinced.

“Nope.”

“Oh. Then may I ask why you’re just standing here staring at the door like you’re going to be ill?”

“Uh, yeah, that. This is kind of my first day and I’m late, which is probably the most unprofessional thing I could do on my first day of professional school.”

The woman chuckled, and Emma thought she was going to collapse right then and there at the sound. “I doubt that, dear. You’d be surprised at the kind of unprofessional behavior I’ve seen students display. Trust me, being late to an introduction is the very low on that list.” She gave her a reassuring smile.

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right. Definitely not worth dropping out over,” Emma laughed nervously, brushing the hair out of her eyes.

“You were considering dropping out because you didn’t want to walk into class late?”

“Well, when you put it like that…”

She chuckled again and Emma thought she might combust. “Go on in, you’ll be fine.”

“Thanks, um, doctor…” Emma squinted, trying to read the name on the white coat.

“Mills. I’ll be right behind you. Now hurry up and open that door. You aren’t the only one that’s late.”

Emma’s brain was short circuiting, but before she could say something stupid, she forced herself to open the door and enter the auditorium. And every fucking eye in the room immediately swiveled right towards her. Emma froze in place, because she couldn’t see an empty seat anywhere in the damn place, and she could _not_ handle all these eyes on her at once. It was more than the lack of punctuality that made her nervous. Emma was a little different than most students in this room. Most students enter medical school after they complete their four-year undergraduate studies, which usually comes right after high school, putting most of these students around twenty-two to twenty-four years old. Emma was a bit of a latecomer. She was twenty-nine and though it wasn’t a huge difference, she couldn’t help but feel that she might be judged. She was about to bolt when Dr. Mills touched her elbow as she passed, and Emma didn’t know what else to do but follow her.

“Sorry we’re late. Miss Swan and I were stuck in the elevator. You know how unreliable those old things are,” Dr. Mills said to the man addressing the class. The lie fell so effortlessly from her lips and Emma couldn't help but wonder why she was covering for her, but she wasn't complaining. _Wait, how does she know my name? I didn’t tell her my name. Why didn’t I tell her my name?!_ Her thoughts were interrupted when she realized who Dr. Mills was speaking to. Emma recognized him from the school’s website and her interview day; he was the frickin’ dean of the college of medicine, and Emma had just interrupted him. Dr. Gold had been the dean of Boston University School of Medicine for almost ten years. He had short, gray hair and an impish smile that made him look like more of a mob boss than a doctor. He used a cane that seemed to be more for decoration than anything, because the few times Emma had seen videos of the cardiologist miraculously saving a life, he was very mobile. Emma held her breath, but Dr. Gold just nodded towards them and gave an exasperated sigh.

“I’ve put in ten work orders for those elevators since the beginning of the year. In case you lot didn’t know,” he addressed the students, “our auditorium is part of the old hospital pavilion, so we don’t exactly have the greatest…amenities. Luckily for you, the interactive classes will all be centered in the new section of the hospital. Now, where was I?” Dr. Gold resumed his introduction as if nothing had ever happened. Dr. Mills took her seat in the front row, smiling at her coworkers whom Emma hoped she hadn’t been too late to learn the names of. Dr. Mills turned her head slightly so she could see Emma and nodded in the direction of an open chair. Emma mouthed thank you, and Dr. Mills gave her a sympathetic smile. Emma’s heart fluttered in her chest. _Yeah, definitely glad I didn’t drop out today._


	2. Twice in a Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a few things about how this story is going to differ from a real life medical school:  
> First, the anatomy professors at my school were not MDs/DOs, they were clinical anatomists with PhDs, so they didn't actually interact with patients. All other courses at my school are taught by MDs/DOs. I made Regina an MD and an anatomist in this story to make things more interesting. Second, I'm not really sure what kind of warning to include for this, but this story will include description of cadaver dissection and internal anatomy. I'll try not to get too graphic, but it may not be for those with a weak stomach! Lastly, if you aren't familiar with the hierarchy in hospitals, I'll try to explain the best I can. Medical students are in school for 4 years. The first 2 years are spent in the classroom, while the last 2 years are spent working in the hospital in different specialties. After graduation, students are accepted into a residency where they practice under an attending physician. Residencies range anywhere from 3-8 years. I believe neurology residencies (which will be mentioned in the story) last around 3 years. Happy to answer any questions you might have :)

Emma took her seat next to a young man with shaggy brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard. He smiled as she ungracefully plopped into her chair and let out a huge sigh of relief that she managed to avoid getting kicked out of medical school, thanks to Dr. Mills. She smiled back at him as she unpacked her bag. First order of business: chug half of the still-hot coffee in her thermos. Once she had settled in, iPad poised for notetaking, she turned back to her new classmate.

“Hey, I’m Emma. The class disruption,” she joked.

He chuckled quietly. “Graham. Nice to meet you, Emma. We’re on slide 32 of the introductory PowerPoint.”

“You’re a life saver.”

“That’s the goal.”

They both laughed at his terrible joke. After Dean Gold finished going over the code of professionalism and conduct that was expected of his students, he turned it over to the physicians who would be teaching their first-year courses. Emma tried not to doze off as several older men took to the stage, stating their names, their fields, and their research interests. Emma knew she should be paying attention, but she just needed to start class so she could throw herself into her studies and put the stress of the morning behind her. She snapped out of it when it was Dr. Mills’ turn to introduce herself. She exuded confidence as she walked onto the stage and adjusted the microphone attached to her shirt. Emma thought she looked positively regal in the way she commanded the room’s attention with nothing but a “hello”.

“Good morning, everyone. I’m Dr. Regina Mills and I’m a neurologist here at Boston U. I work with a diverse population of patients ranging from those affected by genetic disorders to those suffering from brain tumors and strokes. However, I specialize in the treatment of chronic pain. If you would like to learn more about this field or apply for a research position, do not hesitate to email me. You can find my contact information in your email directory as well as on Boston University’s website. In addition, I will be one of your gross anatomy and physiology professors this semester. You will see me in the gross lab, where we will be examining anatomic structures on cadavers. We are a pro-section lab, so the dissections have already been completed by me and my colleagues. I’ll go over lab safety and procedures with you later in the week when you are divided into your lab groups. For now, I believe I will see you all again Wednesday for an introduction to the nervous system. Welcome to Boston U School of Medicine.” She gave the class a small smile as she returned to her seat.

Emma had reached a conclusion: Dr. Regina Mills was perfect. She spoke effortlessly in front of the crowd and was the first speaker to actually gain everyone’s attention. Not a single person in the room looked uninterested in what she was saying. Although Emma was primarily interested in pediatrics, she was intrigued by Dr. Mills’ chosen specialty. Before she could think about it further, her very first anatomy class officially began with Dr. Hopper discussing the basics of sensation and structures of the skin.

When class ended, Emma took her time gathering her belongings as the students started piling out for the day. She had planned on heading to the library anyways, so she was in no rush. Graham had already sent her a friend request on Facebook, promising that they would go for coffee at some point this week. Emma was thankful she had managed to make a friend on the first day, even if he was a little younger than her. She had been worried about being an outsider, considering some of these students probably attended undergrad together and already knew each other. Many of them were already making lunch plans together. She doubted she’d be eating lunch today, since her stomach was still in knots over her close call this morning. Besides, she had more pressing issues on her mind. When most of the students had cleared out, Emma waited until Dr. Mills was walking up the steps before she exited her row, falling into step next to the neurologist. Dr. Mills smiled at her as they left the room and headed for the fully functional elevator.

“So, was your first day as humiliating as you thought it would be?” Dr. Mills asked her.

Emma laughed. “No, it wasn’t. But I had some help.”

“Hmm,” she hummed. “I think you would have done just fine without me,” Dr. Mills replied. “If you don’t mind me asking, what possibly could have held you up for your first day of medical school?”

“Ah…I couldn’t find my badge, and I figured I’d need it if I wanted to enter this wing of the hospital. Or avoid getting thrown out by security.”

Dr. Mills let out a full-blown laugh this time. “Good decision. Better to be late than to be escorted off the premises permanently.”

Emma laughed as well, enjoying their good-natured conversation. Dr. Mills was so easy to talk to that for a moment, she forgot that she was her superior. Emma noticed they were getting closer to her stop, and she desperately wanted to keep the conversation going. “You, um…you said earlier that you were also running late?”

Regina sighed. “Yes, well, my situation was a bit messier than a misplaced badge. Two-year olds can be quite destructive when they aren’t feeling well, so I required a change of clothing. Twice.”

Emma’s stomach dropped. _Shit, she has a kid. That means she’s probably married. To a man. Fuck._

“Is he…or she alright?” Emma asked.

Regina nodded and relaxed against the elevator wall. “He was very sick, but he’ll be fine. He did manage to projectile vomit in almost every room of the house, though. I had to call his pediatrician to come see him around five in the morning. Thankfully, she thinks it’s just a stomach bug. His nanny is watching him today and is keeping me updated.”

Emma nodded. “Your husband couldn’t stay home with him?”

Regina stiffened. “Why would you assume that there is a husband in the picture?” Her tone reminded Emma of the calm before a storm.

Emma gulped nervously. She definitely crossed a line that she hadn’t meant to. “I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed. I’m really sorry.”

The elevator dinged and Emma ran out, even though her floor was three more stops away. _Fuck. Fuckity fuck fuck._ How did she manage to screw up with the woman who saved her ass in a matter of ten minutes? Emma paced in front of the elevator with her hands atop her head, trying to calm herself down. Amid her panic, she hadn’t noticed that someone was approaching her. That makes twice in one day. _Maybe I should pay more attention to my surroundings._

“Hi there, are you okay? You look a bit flustered,” a short-haired woman said. Her dark hair was styled in a pixie cut and she wore a light pink sweater and khaki pants under her white coat.

“Yeah, I’m good. Sorry for causing a scene. I just accidentally pissed off my anatomy professor, and I was kind of freaking out,” Emma admitted, blushing.

The woman’s face morphed into an expression of understanding. “Ah. I see you’ve had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Mills, then.”

Emma looked at the woman with a confused expression. “How did you know it was Dr. Mills?”

The woman chuckled. “She has quite the reputation for her temper around here. This is her first year teaching an actual class. They hadn’t considered her in the past because of her tendency to make the third and fourth year students cry when they’re on their neuro rotations.”

Emma was shocked. How did the same woman that lied to save her ass this morning have a reputation for making people cry? Emma shrugged it off as rumors. “She seemed super nice this morning, but then I said something that offended her. It was my bad.”

The doctor shook her head. “Offending her is not a hard thing to do, trust me. Oh, I never even introduced myself! I’m Dr. Mary-Margaret Blanchard, emergency medicine. I’m currently a fourth-year resident, so I’ll be one of the instructors for your ultrasound lab this year. And you are…?”

“Emma Swan, apparently public enemy number one at the moment.”

Dr. Blanchard laughed. “You’ll be fine. Every hospital has someone like her. If you ever need me, feel free to shoot me an email. I’m always open to students coming into shadow in the emergency department.”

“Thanks, Dr. Blanchard. Have a nice day,” Emma waved her goodbye and finally mustered up the courage to hit the down button on the elevator. She could have taken the stairs, but she couldn’t find the energy to do so after the day she’s had. She was thinking about Dr. Blanchard’s comment about ‘someone like Dr. Mills’. Sure, Emma had seen her temper flare up, but she had been nothing but kind up until then. There must be more to it than that.

She was just about to walk into the elevator again when she looked up and saw that Dr. Mills was still inside. _Of course. Of course she’s just coming back from where ever she was as soon as I press the goddamn button,_ Emma thought. She almost turned around when Dr. Mills’ voice stopped her.

“Jesus, there you are! I’ve been riding this death trap up and down waiting on you to get back on. Four men asked me if I was lost, like I’m not wearing a white coat that reads, ‘Boston University neurology’. Get in, will you?” Regina motioned at Emma to hurry up, looking clearly irritated.

Emma stood with her mouth gaping for a moment, but then decided that making Dr. Mills wait was probably a bad idea. She closed her mouth and rushed into the elevator. Dr. Mills hit the close door button five times and then pressed the button for the floor Emma originally meant to get off on.

“I know that wasn’t your stop. I saw you press two when you got in,” Dr. Mills explained.

Emma blushed. “I was feeling claustrophobic.”

The neurologist gave her a look that clearly said she didn’t believe her. “Right. I wanted to apologize. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I know that you’ve had a stressful day and it wasn’t my intention to make it worse, so for that I’m sorry. You asked an innocent question and I reacted poorly.”

Emma shook her head. “No, you don’t have to apologize. I overstepped. We just met a few hours ago and you’re my professor. I shouldn’t have asked such personal questions right off the bat. I’m honestly so grateful that you covered for me today. The last thing I wanted to do was upset you…” Emma was ready to keep rambling, but Regina cut her off.

“Don’t worry about it, Miss Swan. Curiosity gets the best of all of us sometimes.” The elevator stopped at the third floor. “I’ll see you on Wednesday. Try to be on time tomorrow,” Regina said as she walked off and headed towards the neurology wing.

A flash of a memory hit Emma. “Wait!” she yelled, holding the elevator open with her arm.

Dr. Mills turned back around with one perfect eyebrow raised.

Emma fidgeted. “How did you know my name?”

Dr. Mills just gave her what Emma deemed to be her signature smirk. “Your badge,” she said, disappearing into the hallway.

Emma let the elevator close as she slumped back against the wall. _Nice one, Swan._


	3. Harold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zelena and Regina are not related in this story. I just like writing Zelena because...Zelena.   
> If there is too much medical jargon in here, let me know and I'll keep that in mind for later chapters!  
> Anyways, here's the next one :)

As far as first days of school go, this was one of Emma’s better experiences. Growing up in the foster system meant that she was usually unprepared for class, not as well-dressed as her classmates, and teachers were often frustrated with her because they had to keep providing her with materials. It made for a bad start to the year. So yeah, even though she almost blew it with Dr. Mills and made a spectacle of herself in front of the entire college of medicine, it was a pretty solid day.

She spent several hours in the library going over the material they had covered in class. She remembered a lot of the information from her anatomy course in undergrad, so she didn’t have to use too much brain power on that. It was the physical exam stuff that she was going to struggle with. She was going to need practice, but the person she had in mind would need some convincing. And probably some bribing.

Emma unlocked the door to her two-bedroom, two-bath apartment that sat only a mile from the hospital. The downside was that it sat on a small road right in the middle of the city, so it was always bustling with traffic. But it was a necessary evil for Emma since she had a habit forgetting things. She would forget her ass if it wasn’t attached to her, making a short commute a requirement. Really, it wasn’t a bad price considering the amenities. Convenient location. Utilities included. A small balcony that Emma could try and fail to grow a plant on.

But, just like most things in life, it came with a catch.

Her name was Zelena West.

Zelena had been living there for the past year. Emma found her ad online looking for a roommate, and she had no idea what she was getting herself into. They’d been living together for a few months now and things have been…chaotic. Emma doesn’t dislike Zelena at all; she’s become one of Emma’s closest friends, which have been hard to come by for her. They are just very different people and thus have different living styles. Zelena is completing her master’s degree in business with hopes of owning her own boutique. She’s been working in marketing at a tech company for the past couple years while finishing her program. She has a knack for design, and there is evidence of it, quite literally, all over the apartment. Emma often comes home to find random articles of clothing strewn about, with Zelena sitting in the middle of the floor with a sketch pad. Half the time, she doesn’t even register Emma’s presence when she walks in a room. Today was no different. She was sprawled out in the hallway, sketching something frantically with one hand while sorting through stacks of fabric with the other.

“Hey, Z!” Emma called out to her. No response. “Zelena?” she tried again.

Silence.

Emma shrugged, went into the kitchen and grabbed a banana. Then, she grabbed a granny smith apple and launched it right at her roommate. It hit her in the arm. Emma had pretty good aim. Lots of practice.

“Bloody hell, Emma! I don’t come home and immediately assault you,” Zelena growled in her accented voice. She got irritable when she was disturbed during her process.

“I said your name twice. It’s not my fault you were stuck in your bubble.”

“I was perfectly happy in my bubble, thank you very much. Now what do you want?”

“Wow. Hey, Emma? How was your first day of medical school? You know, the most important day of your life? Anything interesting happen?” Emma mocked.

Zelena rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine. Tell me about it, I’m all ears.”

Emma waved her off. “I’m just messing with you. It was fine. Well…almost fine. I was late but a professor covered for me. Then I accidentally insulted that professor.”

Zelena snorted. “That sounds about right.”

“I apologized, we’re fine now. Anyways, I need to ask you something…” Emma scuffed her shoe against the floor with her eyes cast down.

“No.”

“Zelena…”

“No.”

“You don’t even know what I’m going to ask you yet!”

“Still, no.”

“I’ll do all the chores for a month.”

Zelena was silent for a while, but eventually spoke up. “You’ll do my laundry too.”

“Absolutely not. You go through at least two outfits a day. I don’t even know how that’s possible.”

“Take it or leave it, Swan.”

Emma groaned. She really had no other choice. Her only other friend here was Graham and performing a physical on him might be a little awkward since they just met. “Deal. Now sit on the couch and let me do my job.”

“I hope that’s not how you greet all your patients.”

Emma sighed. She really needed to make some more female friends.

***

Wednesday’s class came and went quicker than Emma thought it would. She had been excited to listen to Dr. Mills’ first lecture of the year, but it only lasted one short hour. She should have expected that since it was just an introduction to the process of neurotransmission, but she couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Dr. Mills had also gotten a page right after class, so she didn’t get a chance to talk to her either, having to settle for a small smile as she walked out of the room.

Thursday was finally lab day. Emma was excited and nervous at the same time. She had never seen a cadaver before. Zelena had googled a video of an autopsy in to help her prepare (to which she started gagging dramatically), but Emma knew there was a big difference between an autopsy on a freshly dead body and a body that had been preserved in formaldehyde. 

The chemical smell was pretty bad, but not terrible. Or at least Emma didn’t think so. A couple students went as far as to gag and cover their noses. Emma fought an eye roll.

Students were starting to enter the lab. Emma almost mentioned that the syllabus specifically said to wait for a professor to instruct everyone on where to go once they were inside, but she held her tongue. No sense in making any enemies. Five students had just made their way through the massive double doors when Dr. Mills appeared from the back of the lab. She was dressed in a pair of maroon scrubs that were very (very) well-fitted, with her hair pulled back in a ponytail at the nape of her neck. Not that Emma was staring or anything. When she finally looked up from oogling the neurologist in her scrubs and saw the expression on her face, she knew this was not going to be pretty.

Regina was fuming. She leveled the five students with the most intimidating look she could manage.

“You,” she said, pointing to a boy with dark hair that looked like it was styled to be messy and a pair of light blue scrubs accessorized with a stethoscope around his neck. “What’s your name?”

He gulped. “Nick.”

“Do you have a last name, Nick?”

“Benton.”

“Nick Benton, care to tell me just what the hell you’re doing in my lab?”

“I-I thought we could come in. It was unlocked.”

“Hmm,” she hummed back. Her silence made him even more nervous. “Is that what you do, Mr. Benton? If a door is unlocked, you just barge in? Even when you have specific instructions not to enter until you’re told to do so?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Don’t ‘ma’am’ me. It’s Dr.”

Emma thought that Regina might be two seconds away from strangling this poor idiot.

“No, Dr. Mills. I don’t barge in.”

“So, we understand each other now, hmm? You step foot in my lab before you have permission again and I will have you dismissed from the college of medicine. I won’t train students to be doctors when they can’t follow simple orders. You’ll never make it. Are we clear?”

He swallowed. “Crystal clear, Dr. Mills.”

She smiled, and it wasn’t the kind smile she gave Emma a day ago. It was a kind of scary, tight-lipped smile. “Perfect. Same goes for the other four of you. Now, follow me into the lab and I will show you where the supplies are. Do not touch anything without gloves. Do you know where the gloves are, Mr. Benton?”

“No.”

“I didn’t think so.”

Regina led them to the back wall where she pulled out several drawers of gloves and shoe covers. It took Emma a minute to recover from what just happened. Dr. Blanchard’s claim about Regina’s temper was…surprisingly accurate. If Dr. Mills got this angry at someone for going into a lab early, Emma had no doubt that the poor students that worked under her would be reduced to tears if they made a mistake.

But she’d be lying if she said that she wasn’t incredibly turned on right now. _Do I have a thing for angry women? I think I have a thing for angry women._

“Break up into groups. I want no more than six of you per body. Please do not fight over them.”

Emma crunched up her nose at that mental image. She spotted Graham and he waved her down to join his group. There were only three other students with him: a blonde with her hair swept to the side in a fishtail braid, a tall brunette with a red streak in her hair, and a guy that looked too relaxed to be standing in Dr. Mills’ lab.

“Emma, this is Elsa, Ruby, and August. Guys, this is Emma,” Graham introduced her.

“Oh yeah, you’re the one that got stuck in the elevator with the Evil Queen! How did that go?” Ruby asked, eyes wide in recognition.

_Great, I’m known as the girl that got stuck in the elevator. Put that in the yearbook._

Emma tried to shrug casually. “It was fine. She was actually pretty nice.” She recognized the nickname the students gave Dr. Mills. A guy sitting behind her in class muttered it one day when Regina had told him, in not such kind words, that he wouldn’t have so many questions if he did the pre-work and paid attention during class. It was apparently her moniker among students and residents alike.

August scoffed. “Maybe you just caught her in a strange mood. My friend graduated last May, and he said his neuro rotation with her was what he imagined hell would be like if he believed in it.”

Emma was about to defend Dr. Mills, but Graham cut in.

“Maybe Emma just got on her good side. I’ll go get our supplies.”

“I can go!” Emma said a little too eagerly. When she was met with stares, she added, “I have a question from yesterday’s class for Dr. Mills anyways. I’d rather do it when there’s no one else around to hear her yell at me.”

They chuckled, and Emma breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t too keen on letting her new friends know that she had a big lesbian crush on their professor. Not yet, at least.

Emma walked up to where Dr. Mills was handing things out. Emma glanced down at herself, wishing she’d looked in the mirror before she left her apartment. She knew her sea-green scrubs complimented her eyes and her ponytail highlighted her cheekbones, but she’d barely had time to swipe some mascara on today. She hoped her dark circles weren’t showing.

Poor Nick had just turned away after she handed him his gloves when she called out to him. “Oh, and Mr. Benton? For the love of god, take your stethoscope off. I can assure you that none of these patients have heartbeats.”

He turned beat red and scurried away. He was more likely to drop out than Emma at this point. She approached Dr. Mills trying to hide a laugh at Nick’s embarrassment. Regina looked at her, and if Emma didn’t know any better, she’d say that her eyes lit up.

“Good morning, Miss Swan. What did you think of yesterday’s class?”

Regina wasn’t smiling, but her tone softened significantly from when she was scolding Nick.

“It was great. I like your teaching style. I honestly hate when professors try to make the class answer questions out loud. That’s the only thing that I dislike about Hopper’s class.”

Regina’s mouth turned up at the corner. “Dr. Hopper tries too hard to engage the students. Do you or anyone in your group have a latex allergy?”

“Um…they didn’t mention it. I kind of just met them.”

Regina let out a small sound in acknowledgement and handed her a box of black latex-free gloves, a bag of shoe-covers, and five pairs of goggles. “Just in case.”

“Thanks, Dr. Mills.” Emma couldn’t help but grin at her.

Regina nodded back to her. Emma’s spirits were lifted even after that small interaction. _Now I just have to try to not look incompetent in front of her._

Once the groups were settled, Regina walked to the front of the lab. “Welcome to your first gross anatomy lab. I have a few simple rules that I expect to be followed at all times. The most important rule is to treat the bodies with respect. These people donated their bodies to our lab so that we may learn from them, and that means we treat them with care. If I see any of you doing anything untoward, you will be thrown out. The next rule is to always wear your gloves when handling the cadavers. Formaldehyde is a carcinogen and can soak into the skin without a proper barrier. Eye protection is also required, but if you wear glasses, those are acceptable as well. The shoe covers are optional but recommended. Regarding lab hours, mornings are strictly during your scheduled lab times. In the afternoons, you may come in at any time as long as you clean up properly and put everything back in its rightful place. Lab hours will be cut it any of these rules are not met. Now, this is a pro-section lab, so the bodies are already sectioned and prepared for you to examine. You may move the limbs, muscles, nerves, and vessels, but do not cut or pull anything. We use the bodies for two years, so do not destroy them. Got it?”

Everyone nodded.

“Alright, then. Dr. Hopper and Dr. Whale will be in soon and we will circulate between groups to help you identify structures. You can go ahead and take a look at the upper limb. We will be reviewing the muscles and nerves of the arm today.”

While Regina was putting her own personal protection equipment on, Emma was enthusiastically uncovering the body. She and Ruby pulled down the metal lid on each side and secured them under the table.

“His name is Harold,” Ruby said from her crouched position.

“How do you know?” Emma asked.

“Name tag down here. He was 87 when he died from a heart attack. It says he was a mechanic.”

“Okay, Harold. Let’s see what we’re working with here,” Emma said to the body as she peeled back the damp cloths that were draping his arms. Emma was so amazed at the appearance of the body’s muscles and organs in person that she didn’t even realize she had uncovered the entire body. It only hit her when she accidentally peeled off the cloth that was covering his face. It was misshapen and almost green in color from the preservatives, but the features were still easy to make out.

They all just stared at him for a moment and appreciated that they were in this position. It was a humbling experience.

They snapped out of it when Dr. Mills made her way over to their group. She arched an eyebrow at their trance-like state. 

“Miss Swan, is there a particular reason why you decided to uncover his whole body when we are only looking at the upper limb today?” Regina inquired.

Emma felt her face going red. “Um, nope. Just a little over-excited, is all. Sorry, Harold.” She was rushing to cover Harold back up when she heard a small chuckle from Dr. Mills.

The others looked shocked. Emma was just glad she wasn’t mad at her again.

“I’m just teasing. I know it’s your first time and it can take a moment to sink in. Let’s put the coverings back on the lower body and face and then we can begin.”

Graham, Elsa, and Ruby took the left side, while Emma, August, and Dr. Mills stood on the right.

“Let’s start with the nerves. What’s this?” she asked the students, using her metal probe to gently lift the nerve from where it was lying against muscle.

The group was silent. Dr. Mills gave them an incredulous look. “Seriously? Dr. Hopper went over this on Tuesday. Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten.”

Emma decided to speak up. “I can’t remember what it’s called, but it innervates the muscles that extend the arm and forearm and some sensation on the back of the hand.”

Dr. Mills nodded. “You’re right. This is the radial nerve.”

Everyone nodded. “I wish the names were easier, or at least more descriptive of what they do.”

Dr. Mills arched that eyebrow again. “And what would you propose that we call it?”

Emma shrugged. “I don’t know, arm-stretch nerve?”

Regina couldn’t help it, she snorted. “I’m very glad that you are not the one who named the body parts.”

Everyone was starting to get more comfortable as they saw a softer side of Dr. Mills. It seemed that Emma brought it out in her. She asked them some more identification questions, which went more smoothly now that the others were willing to participate.

Elsa answered a particularly tough question about the lateral cord of the brachial plexus and Dr. Mills was impressed. “I can tell that you’ve been studying this. Nice work, Miss Arendale.”

Emma frowned. _I study too. I just can’t remember stupid-ass nerve names._ Not one to be outdone, Emma decided to showcase her knowledge.

“Dr. Mills, the radial nerve is the one that is implicated in Saturday night palsy, right?” she asked coyly.

If Regina saw through her act, she didn’t let on.

“You’re exactly right. Something I hope none of you ever come to my office with,” she gave them a pointed look and they laughed. “Do you know what kind of fracture can damage the radial nerve?”

Emma thought for a moment. “Is it the midshaft of the humerus?”

“Perfect.”

Emma beamed.

Before they knew it, it was time to move on to ultrasound for the day. An hour and half of lab with Dr. Mills just wasn’t enough. They thanked her for her help as they began to re-drape the body and clean the table for the next group.

“No, thank you all for being such pleasant students. I was having a particularly hard morning, but you have managed to brighten up my day a bit,” Regina said. She just happened to be looking right at Emma when she said that last part.

“Well, if med school doesn’t work out, there’s always stand-up comedy,” Emma joked.

Regina laughed and waved them out, but not before meeting Nick’s eyes one more time and shooting him a glare. When the rest of the group left, Emma stole a few more moments with Dr. Mills.

“Hey, you said you had a rough morning. Everything alright?” Emma asked, concern lacing her voice.

Regina let her shoulders slump. “Yes, sort of. My mother dropped in for a surprise visit last night. I canceled on the nanny prematurely hoping that my mother could look after Henry today, but he is not too fond of her yet. He was crying because he didn’t want me to leave for work and I’ve felt terrible about it all morning.”

Emma gave her a sympathetic look. “Well, maybe Henry will be extra happy when you get home today. And who knows? Maybe they’re having some grandson-grandma bonding time and will be inseparable from now on.”

Regina’s eyes widened. “Please do not wish that upon me. You haven’t met Cora Mills.”

Emma chuckled and glanced at the clock. She was running late to her next lab. Surprise, surprise.

Regina smirked, following Emma’s gaze. “You’re going to be late. Again.”

“Can’t you write me a note or something?”

“Miss Swan, this isn’t grade school. Get a move on.” She tried for a stern tone, but she couldn’t stop a small smile. Emma waved her goodbye and grabbed her bag.

She kept smiling as she walked away and fought the urge to look back at Dr. Mills. She was grinning the entire way to the ultrasound lab.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> side note: my irl professor crush was actually not mean at all. I just really like angry!Regina


	4. Umbrella Dilemma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, good news! I finally have an outline. Right now the plan is to have about 14 chapters. I think. But who knows.  
> the bad news, today was the first day of respiratory and im about to get slammed with work so this might be the last update for a month or so.

Another week went by with Emma finding any excuse she could to spend time with Dr. Mills. She stayed after class when Regina lectured to ask questions, even if she already knew the answers to them. She walked a specific route to and from the auditorium just so she could pass her and say hello. She spent her afternoons studying in the anatomy lab alongside Harold on the off chance that Regina would drop by. The last endeavor turned out to be a waste, because when Regina wasn’t teaching, she was seeing patients. Emma remembered how she talked about specializing in the treatment of chronic pain from a neurological perspective and found that she wanted to know more. She made a note in her planner to stop by Dr. Mills’ office tomorrow to ask about shadowing. Odds are, if it wasn't in Emma's planner, she forgot to do it. 

Emma packed up her notes on the plethora of nerves in the lower limb and gently re-covered Harold’s leg. She cleaned off the table and made sure everything was secure when she left. She knew how much Dr. Mills appreciated a clean lab, and she wasn’t going to be the one to make her angry by leaving a mess. Also, Emma was basically the only one who came back into lab during study hours. No one else desired to spend more time in the Evil Queen’s lab than was strictly necessary. The smell was probably a deterrent as well. Emma had come home smelling like formaldehyde all week. Zelena made her change her clothes outside before she entered the apartment, which was not an easy task when you live right off a busy street.

When she walked out of the hospital, it was raining. Not even like the beginning of a storm, or when it’s been raining for a while, where there’s just a light sprinkle. It was a goddamn torrential downpour. And Emma did not check the weather for the day when she left her apartment this morning, because it was sunny and the thought that the weather could change in several hours did not cross Emma’s mind. That meant she did not have her rain jacket or rain boots. All she had was an umbrella that had sat in her backpack for the past two years. Which just so happened to be broken.

Could she run the mile to the apartment? Probably not without slipping and breaking a bone. Could she wait the storm out? She pulled out her phone and clicked on the weather app, which naturally showed that no, she could not wait it out, because it was not going to stop raining until 11 p.m. She was not eating hospital food for dinner.

Emma sighed and began to walk. She wrestled with the broken umbrella to the point where it was inverted and collapsed on one side, so only her left arm was being shielded from the rain.

“Oh, fuck this shit,” Emma muttered. She tossed the umbrella in a trash can and began a fast-paced walk.

It took two whole minutes for her entire body to become drenched. She looked like a drowned rat. Her jeans were stuck uncomfortably to her legs and her hair was plastered to the side of her face. She could barely see because water was getting in her eyes and she was certain that mascara was running down her cheeks. People driving by in their cars were openly staring at the idiot on the sidewalk who decided she should walk home in the middle of a storm without an umbrella.

Then one of the cars suddenly stopped right in the middle of the road, ignoring the honks coming from behind them.

The window was rolling down to reveal none other than Dr. Regina Mills, who was giving Emma a look that said ‘are you fucking kidding me, what is wrong with this girl?’.

“Would you like a ride?” the doctor asked her.

Emma didn’t even give an answer. She just hurled herself into her passenger seat, shivering from the cold.

Regina started driving without batting an eye, like this was a completely normal situation. She adjusted the vents to where the heat was fully hitting Emma and turned it up to full blast. Emma didn’t even have time to process that she was sitting in a Mercedes Benz SUV, thoroughly soaking the seats.

“Um…sorry about your car,” Emma muttered, shifting uncomfortably. There was nothing worse in the world than being stuck in wet clothes. Except maybe a dropped Cinnabon. That was pretty tragic.

Regina waved her off. “It’s fine. The backseat has seen much worse.”

Emma’s head whipped around so fast she thought she may have broken her neck. When Dr. Mills saw the surprised look on Emma’s face, she blushed all the way down to her chest.

“Not like that! I meant from Henry. Messes from Henry. Vomit. Number ones and twos. Spilled milk. That’s what I meant.”

Emma thought it was cute that Dr. Mills was so visibly flustered and rambling.

“Where do you live?” she asked, clearly trying to change the topic.

Emma gave her the address, but Dr. Mills ended up going in another direction.

“Um, Dr. Mills? The turn was back there.”

“I know that. I’m hungry. Any requests?”

It was a lot for Emma to process. Here she was, soaking wet, sitting in an expensive ass car with an attending physician who was also her professor that she had a massive crush on. Her brain couldn’t keep up.

Before Emma had time to answer, Regina turned into parking lot of the best burger joint in town. It was also the last place that Emma would guess Dr. Mills would want to enter. The Mad Cow was a restaurant until 5 p.m., and a dive bar until 3 a.m. The food was ridiculously cheap for the portions. Emma figured it was to make up for the lack of cleanliness and decent service. The crowd was usually a little sketchy. Despite it all, Dr. Mills got out of the car without a second glance at Emma, leaving her scrambling to follow the doctor inside.

She expected heads to turn when Dr. Mills walked in simply because of how she looked. She was wearing fitted charcoal gray slacks that ended just above her ankles, a dark green silk blouse with a tasteful but teasing number of buttons undone, and her four-inch heels that Emma swears she never leaves her home without. Emma was also fairly certain that her black pea-coat cost more than Emma's entire wardrobe. She looked like she belonged in a restaurant that served caviar and chardonnay. Not a bar that put enough beer cheese on their burgers to double someone’s cholesterol in a matter of minutes.

Heads did not turn, to Emma’s surprise. The waiter smiled at Regina and nodded to a booth near the back. Regina smiled back and started walking. Emma followed like a lost puppy.

Regina sat down almost regally while Emma plopped down ungracefully, wet hair still clinging to her head and shoulders.

“You eat at the Mad Cow,” Emma stated while attempting to wipe the mascara off her face.

Regina raised an eyebrow while reaching into her purse. “Yes, Miss Swan. Even Evil Queens consume human food occasionally.” She handed Emma a baby wipe. Emma was too much of a mess to care that this was embarrassing and started wiping her face. 

Emma decided she didn't like that Dr. Mills knew what people called her. She decided she especially didn't like hearing Dr. Mills refer to herself the same way. “It’s not that. This just doesn’t seem like a place that someone like you would go. Certainly not somewhere that I would imagine you having a go-to booth.”

“And who is someone like me, exactly?” Regina replied casually while looking at the menu, but there was an iciness creeping into her voice. Emma needed to choose her words carefully.

“I don’t know…someone successful? Rich? Refined?”

“I wasn’t always rich or refined, you know. I imagine you’d be quite surprised at how hard I worked to get here. It wasn't just handed to me.”

 _Shit, foot in mouth again._ “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply that you didn’t work hard. You’re just so put together. I just thought…I don’t know what I thought. I’ll shut up now.”

Regina cracked a small smile. “I suppose I see what you’re getting at. Truthfully, I do have some colleagues that only frequent restaurants that serve four-course meals and wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like this. Personally, I’ve never been fond of small portions of overpriced food, but to each their own.”

Emma had to ask the question she’d been wanting to ask since Regina skipped the turn for her apartment. “Why didn’t you drop me off first? Before getting dinner?”

Regina shrugged and somehow even that was graceful. “You’re having a bad day. I always order from here when I’ve had a bad day.”

_Huh. Dr. Mills’ favorite comfort food is a burger. Who would’ve thought?_

They placed their orders, with Emma getting the burger loaded with bacon, onion rings, sriracha, and slathered in beer cheese, while Regina choose one topped with cajun seasoning and blue cheese. Emma removed her tomato and lettuce from her burger when it arrived, stating that ‘vegetables have no business here’. Regina rolled her eyes but laughed a little nonetheless. 

“Since we’re here, I’ve been wanting to ask about shadowing you sometime,” Emma began a little nervously. She had actually resolved to do this over email so she wouldn’t embarrass herself, but she figured there was no time like the present.

Regina paused, fry stopping halfway to her mouth. “You want to shadow me?” she asked incredulously, like the very thought of someone wanting to spend their time in her clinic was utterly ridiculous.

Emma felt herself going red. _This was stupid. I’m an idiot. I’ll just shove this burger in my mouth and then make a run for it._ “Sorry, I understand if you don’t have time or if you don’t want me to…”

“It’s not that I don’t want you to,” Dr. Mills cut in. “I’d be happy to have you come in whenever you’d like. I’m just surprised. I haven’t had a shadowing request in quite some time.”

Emma brightened up a bit. “I’m interested in your specialty. Well, not practicing it myself, I don’t think. I eventually want to go into pediatrics. But I haven’t had much experience with chronic pain other than what you see on the news about the opioid epidemic. I’d like to learn more about what you do.”

Regina nodded. “We can talk more about it when you come to my clinic. When would you like to shadow?” She pulled out her phone, checking her schedule. “I have clinic on Monday through Thursday in the afternoon, from noon until 6pm. I do rounds in the hospital on Tuesday and Friday mornings, and while you could certainly join me then, I won’t ask you to skip class. That’s entirely up to you. The lectures are recorded, but I understand if you prefer attending in person.”

“What about next Monday and Tuesday? I’d like to shadow in clinic and in the hospital. Get the best of both worlds, you know?”

Dr. Mills nodded. “I’ll put that in my calendar now. I’ll email you with directions to my office and the proper attire. I don’t suspect you’ll need your stethoscope, but you can bring it if you like. I know how much you student doctors like to prance around with them around your neck even though you haven’t a clue how to use it.” A stranger would have thought the remark was insulting, but the small tilt of Regina’s lips showed that she was joking.

Emma suspected that many people saw Dr. Mills as cold because they didn’t understand her sense humor. If you look hard enough, you can always tell when she’s being serious and when she’s teasing. Emma just paid more attention to her expressions than most.

So, she laughed freely, and that just made Regina smile wider. They finished their food over light conversation about class, new advancements in medicine, and healthcare policy. They found that they agreed on most things. When they finished, Emma tried her best to pay for her food, but Dr. Mills refused.

“I’m the one that all but forced you to come here. I’ve got this,” she said to Emma.

Emma appreciated the gesture, and not just because she realized (after she offered to pay) that she left her wallet in her apartment.

As Dr. Mills drove the short distance from the Mad Cow to Emma’s apartment, Emma found herself wishing she could do this more often. She missed just being able to spend time with someone, to get to know them. She hadn’t been to dinner with anyone since her ex almost a year ago. Not that this was a romantic outing, she told herself. Dr. Mills was just being kind. Emma mentally smacked herself upside the head. _Tone down the gay, Emma. She’s your professor._

They turned onto her road and Regina pulled up to the sidewalk in front of the apartment.

“Thank you for the ride and for the food, Dr. Mills. You saved me the embarrassment of walking on the side of the road looking like an abandoned animal,” Emma said.

Dr. Mills chuckled. “Well, I think a fair number of people saw you and your predicament before I got there, but you are welcome anyways.”

“I’ll see you in class Friday.” Emma opened the door to leave, but a hand on her arm stopped her.

“Wait,” Dr. Mills called. “Here.” She handed her a small umbrella from her backseat. “So you aren’t running around like an abandoned animal in a storm.”

"You don't need this?"

"I have another one at home."

“Thank you.” Emma held her eyes for a moment, and she could have sworn she saw a small sparkle there. She shook her head slightly and got out of the car. It was still raining, so she ran up the steps to her apartment, waving at Dr. Mills as she went. She could still feel her arm tingling from where Dr. Mills had held onto it. Emma had it bad. Very, very bad.

***

Emma wished the weekend away. She studied for almost twelve hours on Saturday and Sunday, just to distract herself from the agonizing wait for shadowing with Dr. Mills. She was pretty sure she had memorized every single slide from the past week. She was a mixture of excitement and nerves. What would be expected of her? She knew from past experience that what was required of students during shadowing was different with every physician. Some preferred that you just follow and watch quietly, while others encouraged you to be more hands on. She assumed Regina was the former, but then she realized that many of her assumptions about the neurologist had proven incorrect. When Graham and Ruby texted her to plan a coffee date slash study session after class on Monday, they had almost popped a blood vessel when she told them why she couldn’t come.

“Are you insane?!” Ruby screamed over FaceTime. She had Graham on the phone as well.

“Rubes, I’ll be fine. Dr. Mills is nothing like everyone says she is,” Emma tried to reason. 

“To _you._ I thought she was actually cool that day in lab, but a few days ago I had to deal with her Evil Queen side. Right after she said ‘hi’ to you in the hallway and ignored me when we were walking to the library, she emailed me telling me that my hair was ‘unprofessional’ and if I wanted to look like a teenage delinquent that I should consider another career path. 'Perhaps Hooters', she said. All because of a fucking red streak of hair. There aren’t even any rules in the student handbook against it!”

Emma was genuinely surprised. Dr. Mills had smiled at them when she passed them in the hallway. Or maybe she had just smiled at Emma?

Could that mean…?

 _No. No fucking way. Dr. Regina freakin’ Mills, M.D., was not jealous of Ruby_. Emma was just grasping at straws and letting her crush screw with her mind.

“Maybe she’s just old-fashioned, Rubes. They didn’t always let students have colorful hair.”

"She's not old enough to be old-fashioned!"

Graham had stayed silent for the most part.

“Graham, back me up here!” Ruby pleaded.

“Sorry, Ruby. She hasn’t done anything to me. Yet...” he said warily.

Emma rolled her eyes. “You’re both being dramatic. Everything will be fine, and I’ll meet up with you all Tuesday afternoon and tell you about how great it was. Are Elsa and August coming?”

“Probably. I’ll send the plans in our group message,” Graham agreed.

“Whatever, Em. It’s your funeral. Don’t say we didn’t warn you,” Ruby quipped.

“Bye, Rubes. See ya tomorrow.” They said their goodbyes and Emma was left with her mind spinning. She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was a deeper reason behind Dr. Mills chastising Ruby over something minor. She just wasn’t sure that it was related to her.

She shook it off. She had been excited about Monday all weekend. She wasn’t going to let this worry her. Tomorrow, she would be in the world of Regina Mills. And she couldn’t wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if there is actually a place called Mad Cow. But I did reference a menu from my favorite burger place in my hometown. I felt like that specific burger just had "Emma Swan" written all over it.


	5. Dr. Milf?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> remember when I said it would be a month before the next update? it turns out I hate respiratory and have been actively avoiding studying, so I found some time to write another chapter.
> 
> tw for brief mention of past child abuse (non-graphic)

It was a cool, crisp mid-morning on a Monday. The weather was nice, albeit a little chilly. Emma had at her alarm set for two hours before she was scheduled to be at Dr. Mills’ office. She woke up on time, showered, dressed in her best business-casual wear, had breakfast, and left her apartment before Zelena even thought about rolling out of bed. She did everything right, even surprising herself.

And she was still fucking late.

To be fair, she wasn’t expecting one of the coffee makers at the hospital Starbucks to break right before her order was about to be made. She certainly wasn’t expecting maintenance to take fifteen minutes to show up. Emma had just wanted to do something nice for Dr. Mills in the spirit of returning the favor for dinner the last week. There may have been a hint of ass-kissing involved, but everyone has their not-so-noble reasons.

She anxiously tapped her foot, knowing she wasn’t going to make it to the clinic on time. Even if she ran. Even if she left without their drinks. Even if she ran there without the drinks. She might as well show up late with coffee and hope Dr. Mills wouldn’t murder her on sight. They finally, _finally,_ fixed the damn machine and handed Emma her coffee. Well, Emma thought, it was _probably_ her coffee. She saw some letters that vaguely resembled “Em-“ and “Mi-“ and just grabbed them. She didn’t know how Dr. Mills took her coffee, so she settled on one hot and one iced, throwing some cream and sugar packets in her bag.

Emma jogged up all three flights of stairs up to the neurology wing of Boston University Medical Center, leaving her panting by the time she turned down the hallway and knocked on Regina’s door. She only got two knocks in before the door swung open.

Emma was expecting anger. Or even thinly veiled frustration. Maybe even some grade-A condescension for her lateness. She wasn’t expecting to see relief on Dr. Mills’ face.

“Miss Swan,” she breathed.

“Hi,” Emma replied awkwardly, holding up her beverages. “I brought coffee. I promise I was on time. I really was. But right before they started to make my order, the machine broke and they had to call hospital maintenance to come fix it, which also took a while because I guess one of the air ducts broke up in labor and delivery and obviously that was a nightmare…” Regina just stared at her, so Emma decided it was time to stop rambling. “Anyway, I didn’t know if you wanted iced or hot coffee. I like both. So, whatever you want. I think they wrote your name on the hot one, but it doesn’t matter to me.”

Regina still had a funny look on her face but reached out to take the hot coffee. “I thought you changed your mind about coming today,” she said quietly.

“What? No! I wouldn’t back out unless it was an emergency.”

Regina shrugged and averted her eyes down to her coffee. “It’s happened before.”

Emma was kicking herself for making Dr. Mills feel just like all the other students do. She never thought she’d see the neurologist display any self-consciousness, but it was written all over her face.

Dr. Mills straightened her back and her face slipped into a neutral mask. “Well, despite the lateness that seems to be a personality trait, I do appreciate the coffee.” Regina turned and walked into her office, waving for Emma to follow.

“I shoved some cream and sugar packets in here somewhere,” Emma muttered, sorting through her bag. She dumped some on the table and promptly poured most of the sugar into her iced coffee with a little bit of cream.

Dr. Mills didn’t look up as she was fiddling with a sugar packet herself but noticed the absurd quantity of sugar Emma was using. “Have you learned about diabetes at any point in your studies yet?”

“Ha, ha. I’ll have you know my blood sugar is fine. Probably.”

Regina chuckled and took the lid off her cup. She stared at it for a minute, then raised an eyebrow at Emma as she showed her the writing. “Dr. Milf?” she asked dangerously.

“Oh fuck.” Emma could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. _This is where I will die of embarrassment. Today is the day. RIP Emma Swan._ “I did not tell them to write that.”

Regina was glaring at her.

“To be fair, Dr. Mills sounds very similar to Dr. Milf…”

“We’re switching coffees.” Dr. Mills’ reached for Emma’s, took one drink, and almost spit it out. “Dear god, how do you drink that monstrosity?”

Emma relaxed a little, knowing Dr. Mills wasn’t going to kick her out of her office. “With a feeling of pure joy.”

“I can _feel_ the sugar coating my teeth after one drink.”

Emma leaned back in her chair. “You’ve got two choices: drink my perfectly fine and tasty coffee or walk around with a cup that says Dr. Milf. Either way, I get coffee.”

Regina grumbled something that sounded like, “sacrificing my dignity to save my blood sugar” but switched the coffees back. Emma took a big swig, earning her another eyebrow quirk. “You just drank after me.”

Emma lifted an eyebrow back. “You don’t have cooties, right?”

Regina rolled her eyes. “No, but I could be sick. You didn’t even ask.”

Emma took another drink. “Are you sick?”

“No.”

“Why are you making this so difficult? Just enjoy your coffee, Dr. Milf.”

Regina leveled her with a glare. “Miss Swan, that’s a step too far. Even you won’t get away with that.”

“Right, sorry.”

Regina’s mouth tilted up at the corner, letting Emma know that she wasn’t really mad. Emma was discovering that she could always tell when Dr. Mills was joking, just by paying attention to the smallest changes in her facial expressions. Is this what people mean when they say they want to be seen? Emma didn’t know, but she was determined to keep looking. She snapped out of her thoughts when Dr. Mills spoke again.

“Are you prepared for your exam this week?” Dr. Mills asked as she was flipping through some insurance forms that had been submitted day prior.

“I think so. The first one wasn’t all that bad. The leg stuff is a bit harder to memorize though. Everything sounds the same, especially the nerves.”

Dr. Mills looked up and gave her a small smile. “Hopefully you’ll be able to see something today that can help with that. I’ll have to look at the patient log and see who we have.”

Regina reached into the pocket of the white coat draped on the chair behind her and pulled out a pair of glasses that almost made Emma spit her coffee out all over the insurance forms.

Because _dear fucking god._ If Emma was attracted to Regina Mills before, she was a goner after seeing her in those glasses. They were just the right size with thick black frames that looked like they were made for her face. Emma watched her scroll through the patient list and wondered what it would be like to look at her like this every day, in her element. _Maybe I should quit school and become her secretary. I could probably still pay my rent and massive student loan debt if I did that. I might have to move out of the city, but I could make it._

“Miss Swan, are you alright?”

Emma didn’t even realize she had her mouth open. Dr. Mills was staring at her over her glasses, looking worried. Emma tried to discreetly make sure she hadn’t been drooling.

“Yep, fine. So, what are we going to do today?” she asked, trying to quickly shift to a new topic.

Regina didn’t look convinced but moved on. “We have two new patients, one to establish care for Parkinson’s Disease and one for diabetic neuropathy. You might want to take some notes since that could be in your future…”

“Very funny.”

“…we have one follow up for a glioblastoma resection, one genetic screening for Huntington’s Disease, and two transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation therapy appointments.”

Emma was impressed. “Did you remove the glioblastoma?”

Regina shook her head. “No, I’m not a neurosurgeon. I was a candidate last year for the transition fellowship, but that fell through. Are you ready to see some patients?” Dr. Mills got up without waiting on Emma. She would bet that if she could see her face, it would be troubled. She couldn’t imagine why a fellowship would fall through for Dr. Mills. Despite claims about her attitude, she had wonderful reviews online (Emma had consulted Yelp) and her patients praised her to no end.

Dr. Mills kept her glasses on, for which Emma was eternally grateful. She’d just have to figure out how to balance concentrating on the patients and ogling her professor. Totally do-able. They knocked on the first door to see their patient.

“Hello, Mr. Tillman. How are you today?” Dr. Mills asked, shaking his hand and sitting across from him.

“I’m doing alright, this foot is driving me crazy though,” he gestured to his left foot. Michael Tillman was a tall man with dark hair, wearing a flannel and dark wash jeans. He had a tag from an auto shop on his shirt, and his work boots indicated that he was on his feet for most of the day.

“We’re going to take a look at that for you and find out what’s going on. Do you mind if my student stays for your visit today?”

“Fine with me,” he nodded at Emma.

She introduced herself and shook his hand as well, receiving a nod from Dr. Mills for doing it without being told.

“Miss Swan, while I’m looking at Mr. Tillman’s foot, would you like to talk with him about how long this has been going on?”

“Yes, definitely.” Emma started her interview, grateful for the experience Dr. Mills was allowing her. Emma had the information she needed and was summarizing for Dr. Mills and the patient.

“I’m just going to recap what you’ve told me so far, and feel free to correct me or add anything as I go. You have had type two diabetes mellitus for five years, you take medication for it but not consistently, and you usually smoke a pack of cigarettes per day. You’ve been having tingling, burning, and numbness in your foot and lower leg for the past year, which prompted you to come in today. You noticed that this started soon after you began your new job, which has different hours than you’re used to and has thrown off your schedule, causing you to sometimes miss doses of your metformin. Does that sound right?” Emma finished.

He nodded. “You’re a good listener. Don’t you think so, doc?” Michael asked Regina.

Dr. Mills smiled. “She’s a natural.” She helped Michael sit back up and pushed the pull-out table back into the chair. “Mr. Tillman, it appears that you have diabetic neuropathy from uncontrolled diabetes. I have some ideas about how we’re going to treat you, but I want to make sure you’re adhering to your medication schedule first. Do you have a pill organizer at home?”

He shook his head.

“Miss Swan, would you mind going to reception and grabbing a pill holder? Just a weekly one will do. Jana keeps them behind the desk.”

“Sure thing,” Emma replied. She was still feeling a rush from her first real patient interview. When she came back, Dr. Mills and Michael were discussing the tests she would like to run.

“I’d like to do a nerve conduction test before prescribing any pain control medications to confirm the diagnosis. It should take around twenty minutes, if you have time.”

“Fine with me,” Michael replied.

“This will be Emma’s first time seeing one done, too.”

“Glad I could be the first,” he gave Emma a thumbs up and she grinned back.

Emma watched as Dr. Mills readied her supplies. She placed an electrode on the bottom of Michael’s foot and powered the stimulator. “We want to put the electrode over the nerve endings on the bottom of the foot, where the pain radiates. We will also put one over the tibial nerve in the leg. Then, just press record,” Dr. Mills stated, handing the device to Emma.

She pressed the button under Dr. Mills instruction, and the pain was easily reproduced in Michael’s leg. Dr. Mills told Emma to switch the power off and remove the electrodes as she entered his electronic prescription into the database.

“I’m going to prescribe you one month of gabapentin. It will help with the neuropathic pain until you can get your diabetes back under control. I’m also going to send in an order for bloodwork. I’d like to monitor your blood glucose levels myself to see if we need to change any other medications.”

“Thanks, doc. I was kinda worried about coming in today. Heard of lot of nonsense about you being unqualified, or being some uptight…”

Emma shot him a look.

“Person,” he continued. “Just goes to show, don’t believe everything you hear.”

Regina gave him a sad smile. “Well, as long as you’re happy with today’s visit, that’s all that matters to me.”

Dr. Mills sent his prescription to his preferred pharmacy, provided him with information about smoking cessation classes, and dropped off his discharge papers at the front desk.

Emma went to speak, but Regina beat her to it. “I’m very impressed with you, Emma. You did a great job for your first actual interview. I know you’ve been practicing with standardized patients, but you made it look like you’ve been doing it for years. Most students aren’t that comfortable until they’re in their third year.”

Emma blushed. “Thank you, Dr. Mills.”

“Are you sure pediatrics is your calling? I think you’d make a wonderful neurologist.”

_Keep complimenting me like this and I will literally devote my life to neurology._ “Well…I have a specific reason that I’m so tied to pediatrics, but who knows where I’ll end up?”

“You’ll have to tell me more about that on our lunch break. Did you plan to stay the whole day? I know most students usually only take half-days to shadow, but you already proved that you aren’t like most students when you asked to shadow _me.”_

“I’d like to stay the whole day, if you don’t mind. I definitely want to see everything you were telling me about earlier. As far as shadowing you, I think everyone else is missing out because they’re a bunch of pus…” Regina gave her a look “pansies,” Emma rectified.

“Good answer. Now, follow me back to my office. I want to show you the scan of Mrs. Hansen’s glioblastoma so you know what to look for in the future.” Regina sat at her computer and motioned for Emma to do the same “You can bring your chair around to my side so we can look at these together.”

Emma hastily rolled her chair, giving Dr. Mills a small bump. She earned herself a half-hearted glare.

“I assume you’ve seen enough CT scans to know the hemispheres of the brain, correct?” Dr. Mills inquired.

“Affirmative.”

“A simple ‘yes’ will suffice, Miss Swan. Glioblastomas have a very specific pattern on CT. Do you see that enhancement in the shape of a butterfly that looks like its traversing the corpus callosum?”

Emma nodded, appreciating the way the defect was lighter compared to its surroundings.

“That is what tells us she had a glioblastoma. These can be very difficult to remove because they are usually located within deep brain structures, and they are high grade.”

“What does that mean? High grade?”

“It means malignancy, or cancerous. It’s likely to spread and become fatal if not removed completely and in a timely manner.”

Emma sobered quickly. She was again reminded of how fragile life can be. “And we’re hoping Mrs. Hansen had it removed in time? And completely?”

Dr. Mills nodded back. “That is what I’m hoping for. I should be receiving the new scans in just a few moments.”

Emma hadn’t realized how close they’d gotten. Their chairs were touching, and Emma was leaning silently into Dr. Mills to see the computer screen.

Dr. Mills cleared her throat and looked at Emma. “Ready to go see your patient?”

“Yes,” Emma croaked back. “Yes,” she answered more firmly, trying not to think about how close Regina’s lips were to her own or how her legs looked in her skirt, crossed under the desk. _Nope, not thinking about that at all._

They finished up for the morning and Regina led her to the break room for lunch, to Emma’s surprise. When she asked Dr. Mills why she ate with the ‘normies’ instead of in her office, she was met with a simple ‘microwave’ as an answer. Regina offered to order them something, but Emma had already packed her own. They sat down opposite each other, and Emma continued to ask questions about some of their cases while they unpacked their food. Emma was still talking when she realized that Dr. Mills was staring at her plate.

“What?” Emma asked.

“Really, Miss Swan? You eat like a child,” she gestured to Emma’s food. She had brought a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a baggie of baby carrots. Which, in hindsight, wasn’t the most impressive lunch for a shadowing date with your neurology professor.

“Hey! I don’t come here and insult your food. What is that, anyways?”

“Chicken bruschetta.”

“I can’t even spell that.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“You like it.”

Okay. So Emma didn’t really know where _that_ came from. But instead of giving her a reprimand about getting too personal, she just smiled.

“That may be, but I do care about your health.”

“I’m eating vegetables!”

“That does not make up for the amount of jelly you put on that sandwich.”

Emma couldn’t argue with that. It was literally dripping off the edges. Dr. Mills speared a piece of chicken with her fork and dumped it on Emma’s plate. In turn, Emma put a couple carrots on hers.

“Not willing to part with any of that jelly, hmm?”

“Got that right.”

Regina chuckled as they continued eating. “So, how are you feeling about shadowing so far?”

Emma chomped on a carrot. “I’m having fun. It definitely beats hanging out with cadavers all the time.”

Dr. Mills raised an eyebrow. “You don’t like the cadaver lab?”

Emma shrugged. “It’s fine, I guess. The smell is a bit much, but it’s not unbearable.”

“Oh,” Dr. Mills said, eyebrows furrowed. “I just thought you enjoyed being in the lab, since you spend so much time in there.”

Emma choked a little on her carrot and had to take a swig of water. “How do you know that I’m in there all the time?”

“You’re marked on the entry log every time you swipe your badge to enter. We check who has come and gone to make sure nothing is missing. Your name is on the log quite often.”

_Well, fuck. Didn’t think this one through, did you Swan?_

“Well…uh, I mean-it’s not that I don’t like the lab. It’s…” Emma was frantically trying to think of an explanation that didn’t involve the fact that she was just trying to spend more time with her professor. “I just wish we could see how the nerves work in real-time, you know? It’s hard to see their connections to all the muscles when they’re already detached.”

Dr. Mills tilted her head. “Well, if you’re interested in the nervous system, there’s a job opportunity over winter break in my research department. That is, if you don’t mind spending even more time with me.”

Without missing a beat, Emma answered, “Yes! I would love that. I’ve been meaning to ask someone about finding a research position for my resume anyways.”

Dr. Mills seemed to deflate at that. “Oh, well I can help you with that. You don’t have to work in my lab if you have other interests. I can email some of the pediatricians and see if they have any openings. I know someone who you would mesh well with even if I find him particularly irritating…”

“No! Shit, sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I was hoping you had a position open after listening to your first lecture. I like you-your field.”

Regina’s eyes brightened again, and Emma’s smile was one of immense relief. She couldn’t stand the thought of Dr. Mills thinking that she was using her as a convenient way to buff up her resume. Of course, she was thrilled that this would make future employers see her as a well-rounded medical student, but she wouldn’t be as enthusiastic with anyone other than Dr. Mills.

Regina smiled back. “Then I’d be happy to have you. My research involves spinal cord stimulation implants for use in multiple sclerosis. I’ll email you the details later and you can let me know if it’s something you’d be interested in. Is there anything else you want to know about? Tips for medical school? Residency applications? Salary concerns?”

Emma thought for a moment. “Actually…I was hoping I could ask you about why you decided to become a neurologist, and why you chose to focus on treating chronic pain.”

Regina was surprised at Emma’s question, but she sat her fork down. “I didn’t always want to be a doctor. My mother is the mayor of a town in Maine and my father was the district attorney, so politics ran in the family. My mother had plans for us to become a political powerhouse of sorts. I was supposed to take her place as mayor one day, and then run for senate, and maybe even the presidency.”

Emma swallowed. “Jesus, she had high hopes. Not that you wouldn’t be great at that. I could totally see you as ‘Madam Mayor’.”

Regina scoffed but continued. “She had everything planned down to the smallest detail. Then my father got sick. Or rather, we realized he had been sick for a while. He always had a slight tremor to his movements, even before I was born. He was occasionally struck with blurry vision that came and went. He didn’t think anything of it. It wasn’t until he started having weakness in his limbs and trouble standing for long periods of time that he knew something was going on. It made his job as a D.A. difficult. When I finally convinced him to go to the doctor, they diagnosed him with multiple sclerosis. There’s no cure and at the time, no treatment options, so it was something he had to live with. The neurologist who diagnosed him determined that his disease had progressed so far that his condition would continue to worsen. I was eight at the time. He was in a wheelchair by the time I was fifteen. He lost his vision completely when I was seventeen. He died when I was twenty.”

“I’m so sorry, Dr. Mills.”

The neurologist smiled sadly at her. “You know more about me now than any of my colleagues or employees, and if we’re going to be working together, we might as well drop the formalities. You can call me Regina. Just not in front of anyone else.”

Emma nodded and smiled back. “Okay. I’m really sorry about your dad, Regina.”

Regina wiped an errant tear that escaped. “After he passed away, I switched my major. I knew that I wanted to help people like my father. I wanted to help ease their pain when there was no cure. I wanted to be a part of _finding a_ cure. We don’t have one yet, but I’m still looking. It’s why I get up every day, that and Henry. That was my father’s name too, did I tell you that?”

Emma shook her head. “No, but Henry is lucky to have you in his life.”

“Thank you for saying that.” Regina grabbed a napkin to wipe her eyes. “Ugh, look at me. I’m an emotional disaster.”

Emma laughed softly. “I’m just a disaster in general, if that helps.”

Regina chuckled. “Well, Miss Swan. I believe you owe me the story about why you want to go into pediatrics so badly. It’ll determine if I can persuade you to join my team.”

Emma put down her sandwich and mentally prepared for the story. “Okay, so this is sometimes hard to talk about so just…I don’t want you to feel bad for me, okay?”

“I won’t. You can tell me, but only if you want to. I was just teasing you about owing me the story.”

“No, I want to tell you. I haven’t really told anyone this story since my interview, and I felt like a robot after repeating it to them so many times. Besides, they got the watered-down version. I’m…I’m an orphan. My birth parents apparently abandoned me on the side of the road when I was a baby, and I’ve been in the foster system my entire life because I was never adopted. I don’t know how much you know about the foster system, but it’s…it’s not always pretty. A family almost adopted me when I was three, but then the wife got pregnant and they gave me back. There were a lot of families after them. I had some good ones in the mix, and I had some bad. I also had some that were just horrible people. The best part of my year was when we got to go to the doctor. It was my favorite place to be. I loved looking at all the equipment, playing with the stethoscope, everything like that. It was also when they figured out who was being mistreated…”

Regina reached her hand out to sit on top of Emma’s, absentmindedly drawing patterns on the back of her hand to comfort her. Emma took a deep breath.

“After that, I realized I wanted to do that for kids like me. I wanted to be that small beacon of hope for them. I just want to help every kid who thinks they weren’t good enough, or who wonders why their foster parents are hitting them, or who doesn’t think it will ever get better. I’d like to be there for them, to advocate for them when no one else will.”

Regina laced their fingers together and squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Emma. Your story made me think of Henry. I adopted him when he was a baby, but that could have easily been his childhood.”

Emma sniffed and gave her a sad smile. “I thought you said you weren’t going to pity me.”

Regina shook her head. “I’m not. That doesn’t mean that I can’t wish that didn’t happen to you. You will be an amazing doctor one day, Emma. In whatever field you find yourself in.”

Emma squeezed her hand in return. They sat there together with their hands still intertwined, Regina’s thumb rubbing gentle circles on her hand, when Emma finally looked up to meet her eyes. Regina was already staring back at her. Her gaze was more affectionate than she had ever seen, her warm eyes feeling like they were burning into Emma. Regina was about to speak when the door to the break room opened and they both snatched their hands back. Regina stood abruptly, gathering their trash.

“Are you ready for the second half of your first day in neurology, Miss Swan?” Regina asked, pulling her white coat back on along with her neutral expression, hiding her emotions.

Emma adjusted her badge. “Yep, can’t wait. And since we’re dropping the formalities, you can call me Emma. Even when we aren’t being emotional disasters,” she grinned, trying to break up the sudden tension.

Regina gave her a small smile and nodded once. “Alright. Let’s go, Emma.”

Emma went.

***

Emma didn’t want the day to end. She loved watching Dr. Mills interact with her patients. She was kind and helpful, never letting a patient leave without all their concerns being addressed. She watched Regina treat patients with a variety of medications and procedures for their pain, always careful with what she was prescribing. She had told Emma she never prescribed opioids unless there were no other options, and Emma respected her greatly for that. She saw too many adults during her time in foster care become addicted after a doctor prescribed them narcotics. After they wrapped up on their last patient, there was something that Michael Tillman said earlier that day that was stuck in her head.

“Hey, Dr. Mills?” Emma began.

“I told you that you could call me Regina when we’re in my office, Emma,” she replied.

Emma laughed. “Well, it’s kind of hard to call you anything else when the white coat and glasses are on. You look too professional.”

“I suppose I’ll take that as a compliment.” Regina shrugged off her white coat and sat down at her desk to complete her charts for the day. “You don’t have to stay if you have somewhere to be, or simply wish to be done for the day. This part will just be me sitting here for thirty minutes updating patient profiles and making records of their visits.” Regina glanced back at Emma to see her reaction.

Unsurprisingly, Emma plopped down into the chair across from Regina. “I don’t mind. Gotta learn all the parts of being a doctor at some point, right?”

Regina chuckled. “Right.”

“So, I’m still doing rounds with you tomorrow morning?”

“Do you want to do rounds with me tomorrow morning?”

_I’d actually like to go many rounds-stop! Mind out of the gutter, Emma._

“Of course.”

“Then I suppose I’ll see you at 7 a.m.”

Emma’s back abruptly straightened. “Holy shit, seven in the morning?” Seeing the look Regina gave her, she corrected. “Fine, I’ll stop complaining. That’s just very early for me.”

Regina just shook her head and smiled. “You’ll be late anyways.”

“True.” Emma was trying to gather up the courage to ask about what Michael said. She didn’t want to ruin the perfect day that they had, but she had to know. “Can I ask you a question about something a patient said?”

Without looking up from her computer, Regina continued typing and just said, “Sure.”

Emma bit her lip. “Michael said that he heard you were unqualified…obviously you’re not, but what did he mean by that?”

Regina stiffened a bit. It was barely noticeable, but Emma could see the way her spine became more rigid and her hand was absentmindedly flexing over the keyboard. Sensing her discomfort, Emma tried to backtrack. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that. I think everyone can see how great you are, it’s obviously just a stupid rumor…”

Regina cut her off. “You don’t have to apologize. I was honestly surprised you hadn’t asked about it sooner.” She sighed, leaning back and taking her glasses off. “I’m not going to go into the details with you, but I made a personal choice that many people didn’t agree with. It led to some questioning of my credibility. That’s all.”

Emma nodded. “Okay. I respect that. I hope you know that I would never believe anything bad about you, no matter who it comes from.”

Regina softened. “Thank you, Emma. I appreciate you…well, just being here. I know that I’m not always the easiest person to get along with, or work with, or be taught by…” Emma went to speak but Regina held up a hand. “I know this. Despite all of that, you’re still brave enough to be here. Thank you for giving me a chance.”

“Anytime.”

Regina nodded towards the door. “You should go. I’ll finish up here, and you can watch me chart tomorrow.”

It sounded like a dismissal, but Regina was smiling softly, and Emma knew she just wanted some time for herself. She could understand that. Emma nodded and threw her bag over her shoulder.

“See you tomorrow!” Emma called as she rounded the corner and looked back.

“Goodbye, Emma.”

On her walk home, she couldn’t stop thinking about whatever “personal choice” Regina made that would make someone call her unqualified. She respected Regina’s decision not to elaborate, but dammit if her mind wasn’t reeling from trying to figure out what it could be. Emma knew what people said about her personality. But Emma also knew that Regina was a damn good doctor and she cared for her patients.

She also found herself wondering about their moment in the break room. It had seemed so…intimate. But that couldn’t possibly be right, could it? _No_ , Emma convinced herself. It was just a case of a professor caring about her student, and nothing more. But it didn’t stop her from hoping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if anyone was curious, a standardized patient is basically just an actor who is playing the role of a patient! medical students practice interviewing and physical exams on them.


	6. Brains and Biceps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just want to say thank you to everyone for all the sweet comments! im glad you're all enjoying the story so far and i really appreciate the feedback. this is actually getting a bit longer than i intended, and i hope that's a good thing.

Emma was in a heated staring contest with the hospital scrub dispenser, hoping to glare it into submission. She had been at the hospital since 6:45 a.m. shadowing Dr. Mills during her rounds on the hospital in-patients, and while that was always a great experience, she really needed food and a nap if she was going to get any studying done today. She had already been slacking the past month, spending the majority of her time with Regina in her clinic. But the scrub machine was standing in her way, refusing to accept the return of her hospital issued scrubs. This wouldn’t be happening if Regina had just agreed to let her wear her own, but _no_ , they had to have the _official_ hospital emblem on them if she was going to be rounding with the ever-professional Dr. Mills. After her third attempt at hitting the return button, she kicked the machine in frustration and it finally accepted her clothes, printing out her proof of return.

“Fuck yeah!” Emma smirked to herself. Who said violence was never the answer?

“Miss Swan?” a voice called from the hallway. “Is there a particular reason why you’re abusing hospital property?” Regina walked towards her, still clad in her own maroon scrubs, looking unamused.

“The ‘hospital property’ is a piece of shit. I made it work, Emma Swan style.”

Regina’s serious expression dissolved. “You’re an idiot. Let’s go get lunch,” she laughed.

Emma dutifully followed Regina into the hospital cafeteria, her thoughts oscillating between how good Regina looked in scrubs and if the cafeteria was serving wings that day. This had become their routine over the last month: spend time with patients, joke around in her office, and then they had lunch together. Regina had gotten in the habit of bringing Emma leftovers during their break, but she was too busy with Henry last night to cook anything, much to Emma’s dismay. So, hospital cafeteria it was. They split up to get their food, Regina veering towards the salad and sandwich bar, while Emma went straight towards the fried foods. They met back up in line where Regina insisted on paying for Emma’s food, claiming an employee discount that Emma wasn’t even sure if she used. They found a booth in the back of the large cafeteria, out of the way from the crowd of hospital employees and patients. As soon as they sat down, Regina zeroed in on Emma’s food choices.

“Emma, I can understand the buffalo wings, but did you really need an entire basket of cheese and bacon fries to go with them?” Regina asked in exasperation.

Emma popped a cheese-covered fry into her mouth, unbothered. “You know, I’m starting to think that you’re just jealous of my food. I’m willing to sacrifice one wing to her royal majesty if she will just let me eat without judgement.”

Regina rolled her eyes. “No, I just can’t believe how you can eat the way that you do and still look like that.”

Emma wiggled her eyebrows. “Like what?”

Regina’s cheeks turned pink, and it took everything Emma had to keep from chuckling at the flustered doctor. She gestured towards Emma with a hand while avoiding eye contact. “You eat like a heavy weight champion and you still look amazing. Fit. You look fit,” she decided.

Emma shrugged, hiding her excitement about the ‘amazing’ comment. “I work out when I can. The eating thing is a product of my environment though. Growing up in a group home for half of your life, you realize that you have to eat when you can, as much as you can. It’s a habit I never got out of, I guess.”

She could see that Regina immediately felt bad for her comment, so she steered the conversation in another direction. “Besides, you’re one to talk. You look great.”

Regina arched an eyebrow, recovering from her embarrassment. “What, for my age?”

Emma scoffed. “No, in general. You aren’t even that much older than me.”

“I don’t recall telling you how old I am.”

“You didn’t.”

Regina looked at her quizzically. “How do you figure that? I’ve been an attending physician for four years. I’ve had eleven years of school, counting residency, on top of that. I’m a fossil compared to you.”

Emma dropped her wing. “Wait, how old do you think _I_ am?”

“You’re a first-year medical student and you don’t look any older than twenty-four. Am I close?”

Emma snorted. “Not at all. I’m twenty-nine, Regina.”

Regina’s fork dropped as Emma resumed eating. “Oh, I didn’t realize…well, I suppose you’re right about us being close in age, then. I’m thirty-four.”

“Well, now that that’s cleared up…”

“Why did you start so late?” Regina interrupted.

Emma looked uncomfortable, and Regina immediately regretted her question.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Emma. That was inappropriate. It’s none of my business.”

Emma sighed. “No, it’s fine. I think the only reason none of my med school friends have asked is because I look younger than I am. It’s not really an interesting story. I had to save up for college before I could enroll. I screwed up my chances at scholarships when I dropped out of high school my senior year which was…not my wisest decision. See, I always _wanted_ to be a pediatrician, but I didn’t believe I could ever do it. I wasn’t really thinking about my future at the time. So, I had to get my GED first and then work until I could afford undergrad. I got some grants from the government and took out as many loans as they would allow me, but I still had to pay for food, buy books, and find a car to get me from point A to point B. Luckily, I did well in undergrad and received some scholarships for medical school, but the process of applying was expensive as hell, too. It took me a few months after graduation to save-up enough from my job to afford the testing, the applications, the secondary applications…” Emma waved her hand. “Long story short, it was financial difficulties.”

Regina placed her hand on Emma’s where it rested on the table. “And now you’re here,” she said with a small smile.

“And now I’m here,” Emma agreed.

Regina pulled her hand back and they resumed eating, making small talk about their morning. Regina was in the middle of explaining why she prescribed one medication over the other when a voice interrupted the conversation.

“Hello, Emma! How are you? Is Dr. Mills still giving you trouble?” Dr. Blanchard asked, approaching behind Regina where she was hidden by the booth.

“Uh…” Emma trailed off, eyes darting to Regina, who had her plastic fork in a death grip.

Dr. Blanchard rounded the corner and saw who Emma was sitting with, and she paled. “Oh, hi Regina. Didn’t see you there,” she waved awkwardly.

“Blanchard,” Regina growled in acknowledgement. “I can assure you that Miss Swan is just fine.” She continued to pick at her salad while Emma felt like she was stuck in the middle of something. She just didn’t know what.

Mary-Margaret cleared her throat. “Anyways, Emma, I’m glad you’re settling in well. Are you still coming to shadow me next week?”

Regina’s fork snapped in half.

“Excuse me, these damn things are flimsy,” Regina muttered, before excusing herself to get another one. When she didn’t immediately come back, Emma knew that something was definitely up.

“Yeah, I’ll be there. Thanks for letting me come, by the way,” Emma smiled at the short-haired doctor.

“No problem! I do apologize for making things awkward between you and Dr. Mills just now when I brought up that incident. She isn’t exactly my biggest fan, as you can tell…”

Emma waved her off. “It’s fine. We’re ok now, she’s actually pretty cool once you get to know her.”

Mary-Margaret smiled tightly. “Right. I’ve got to get going, but it was nice to see you! I’ll email you with a reminder a few days before you come to the emergency department.”

“Can’t wait,” Emma smiled back.

They said their goodbyes and Emma started searching for Regina. She spotted her with Dr. Hopper near the condiment table. _She’s still in the vicinity. That’s a good sign._ She looked tense, Emma noticed, as Regina turned to meet Emma’s eyes. Emma smiled, but it wasn’t returned. Regina started over to their booth.

“Sorry that took a while. I got caught up talking to Hopper about lectures for tomorrow,” Regina muttered.

Emma shifted awkwardly. She was about to open her mouth to speak when Regina beat her to it.

“I see you’ve met Mary-Margaret.” The irritation in her voice was clear as day.

“Yeah, I met her the day I ran out of the elevator onto some random floor. That’s why she made that comment.”

“Is that the only reason?” Regina asked, trying for an angry tone that ended up being more resigned. She was still avoiding eye contact with Emma.

Emma placed a reassuring hand on Regina’s arm. “Yes, Regina. The only reason. I meant what I said yesterday, okay? I think you’re great. You’re not getting rid of me any time soon.” Emma winked.

“God help me,” Regina replied, even though she instantly brightened at the reaffirmation.

Emma threw a fry at her, hitting her square in the chest, and she was momentarily stunned. Emma almost thought she’d crossed some major line, but Regina picked the fry up off her lap and ate it.

“You’ll pay for that one, Swan.”

“Looking forward to it, Mills.” Emma took a swig of her coke, trying to find the courage to ask Regina her next question. “So, what happened between you and Blanchard? It’s pretty clear you two can’t stand each other. Are you guys from rival schools or something?” Emma joked.

Regina stiffened, getting ready to break another fork. “It’s a long story that I’d rather not talk about right now. Maybe some other time.”

Before Emma could prod her for more information, someone else stopped by their booth. The tell-tale clicking of the cane clued them in on who was approaching, which Regina responded to with an annoyed groan.

“Well, isn’t this a sight?” Dean Gold commented with his head cocked to the side, hands resting on top of his cane. He looked at them like they were some type of exhibit at a museum.

Regina’s eyes narrowed. “What, are you surprised that I have the capacity for friendliness towards a student?” she defended.

Emma just stared between the two of them, not knowing what her place was in this conversation.

“Only a bit, dearie. Although I must say, I am glad to see that you’re finally embracing your…predicament.”

“Gold…” Regina warned.

“Have a nice day, Miss Swan. Regina,” he nodded in acquiescence as he finally walked away.

Emma raised an eyebrow at Regina’s stormy expression. “What the hell is his problem?”

“We don’t see eye to eye.”

“Clearly.”

Regina got up and gathered their trash. “I have to file some paperwork before clinic today. I’ll see you in lab Thursday?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Regina nodded, still looking uncomfortable after the conversation with Gold, and left the cafeteria. Emma was left wondering if there was a connection between the mutual dislike of both Dr. Gold and Dr. Blanchard. She wanted to ask again, demand an explanation for the tension she was always in the center of. But Emma wasn’t sure that she’d get an answer.

***

Emma decided that the brain lab was the coolest section they’ve had thus far. Her usual group consisting of her, Graham, Ruby, August, and Elsa all gathered around Harold and stared at the brain that was sitting in a container by his head, suspended in yellowish-brown fluid.

“Isn’t it so weird that Harold’s whole life is just…floating in this container?” Ruby asked in awe, nose almost pressed up against the side of the box. They new better than to open it without Dr. Mills’ permission.

“Wow, no love for the heart? What happened to the whole brain versus heart dilemma when you’re trying to figure out which direction to go in?” August argued.

Emma shrugged. “I mean, the heart is just a muscle. It’s a cute expression, but all of our feelings come from this bad boy right here,” she said, slapping the lid of the brain box.

Of course, it was that exact moment that Regina decided to come assist their group. She tossed Emma an exasperated look.

“Miss Swan, do refrain from jostling poor Harold’s brain any more than necessary.”

Emma mock-saluted, earning her an actual glare that time.

“Alright. Would you all like to start with the brain or cranium first?” Regina asked the group.

“Brain!” they all said at once.

“Medical students,” Regina muttered under her breath, shaking her head. “Miss Swan, would you like to do the honors?”

Emma was bouncing on her toes. “Yes!” she opened the lid to the container and reached her gloved hands down to grab the brain. She lifted it from the depths and was slightly grossed out as it was dripping fluid all over. “Ugh, it’s wet,” she grimaced.

“That tends to be the case when it’s been submerged in a liquid solution,” Regina deadpanned.

Emma fought the urge to stick her tongue out at her. Regina instructed her to place the brain onto a metal tray as she opened it up to show them the contents. She walked them through how to find the outlines of each lobe, where the neural connections were located, and quizzed them on the function of each lobe.

The cranium was next. Emma positioned herself right behind Harold’s head while the others stood on the sides. Overexcited, she attempted to lift the bone away to get an internal view.

Except the skull had already been sliced in half vertically, all the way down to the spine.

The side of the head that Emma wasn’t holding onto dropped to the table, letting out a large _thunk_ as half of Harold’s head hit the table, face first.

The entire room went silent. Emma was preparing for Dr. Mills to viciously reprimand her on treating the bodies with respect. She bit her lip and closed her eyes, waiting for it to be over. Instead, quite the opposite happened. Emma opened one eye to look at Regina, trying to gauge her reaction. The brunette was standing stock still, staring at the fallen half-head.

Then, Regina burst out laughing. The rest of the room soon followed. Emma turned redder than ever and she really just wanted to crawl up onto the table with Harold and die. Noticing her distress, Regina tried to recover.

“Oh god, that’s not funny. I’m sorry, it’s not funny…” but all she could do was laugh again. She had her face buried in her arm, but Emma could see the goofy smile hiding underneath. _Well, I guess my embarrassment was worth it, then_ , she tried to convince herself.

Regina took a deep breath and cleared her throat. “Alright everyone, back to work.” They quickly turned back to their own tables while Regina tried to regain her composure. “Now, how about we very gently put Harold’s face back together and only remove the upper portion of the skull?”

Emma poured all her concentration into not slinging body parts all over the place as she carefully lifted the roof of the skull.

Regina pointed out the indentations and grooves that they should be aware of before gently lifting the head and neck up (holding both sides together because apparently _that’s_ what you’re supposed to do) to let them see the spine. Emma spent most of the time wondering how the heck they managed to separate an entire upper body from a spine while keeping everything intact. Before they knew it, it was time to move on to their radiology lab.

“So where do you keep the machinery to hack these bodies up?” Emma asked, sidling up to Dr. Mills as everyone began to filter out.

“Machinery?” Regina looked at her curiously.

“Like, whatever saw-blade you use on their skulls and vertebrae.”

“Oh. We don’t use a machine. We use hand saws.”

Emma stopped dead in her tracks. “Wait a minute. _You_ hand sawed Harold? You sawed his back away from his spine _and_ split the skull in half?”

Regina put her hands on her hips. “Yes, Emma, I did. Do I not look capable?”

“Honestly, Regina? Not really. You’re tiny.”

“I am not tiny!” Regina fumed. Emma just thought it was cute.

“Yes, you are. Without your heels, you’re basically a toddler.”

“Miss Swan, I’ll have you know that I am of average height and I have the required muscle strength to saw through bones.”

Emma leaned against the doorway with her bag slung over her shoulder. “I don’t even think I could do that, and I’ve got guns,” she said, flexing her biceps.

Regina’s eyes followed the contraction of Emma’s muscles, momentarily distracting her from being insulted. When she felt her lips part, she shook her head and met Emma’s eyes again, who was looking amused.

“I’ll see you in class tomorrow, Miss Swan.” She pushed by her and strode towards her office, leaving Emma just standing outside the lab, smirking to herself.

***

The next day, Emma lifted her head from where it was planted on the table. She was up late the previous night studying and barely got any sleep. Graham smiled at her as he took his seat next to her and she groaned in response and put her head back down.

“Rough night?” he asked, sliding a coffee towards her.

She instantly perked up at the scent of caffeine. “Holy shit, you’re the best. And yeah, I think I finally dozed off around three. Do you have any idea why Dr. Mills thought it necessary to give us four fucking pre-work podcasts that each lasted an hour?”

Graham shrugged. “Don’t ask me, you’re the Evil Queen whisperer.”

Emma scoffed, but Graham did have a point. Regina _had_ been in a much better mood these past couple months since Emma started spending more and more time in her clinic. On the other hand, she still didn’t hesitate to rip someone’s head off when they said or did something stupid.

“Nah, I called her short yesterday. She probably still wants to set me on fire.”

Graham shook his head. “She never stays mad at you though. Even when you make extremely dumb jokes in lab. She likes you for some reason.”

Emma gave him an offended glare. “Gee, thanks.”

Emma was sipping her coffee when Regina walked down her aisle towards the stage. Emma greeted her with a very unenthusiastic “morning”. Regina replied with a cordial “Miss Swan”. As soon as she placed her laptop on the podium, she removed her white coat. Emma’s eyes almost bulged out of her head.

Dr. Mills was wearing a sleeveless dress (which she had never worn to class before), showcasing her very smooth, very tan, and very _toned_ arms. Emma watched her lift a power cord from the floor as she exaggeratedly flexed her biceps. She looked up at Emma and smirked, brown eyes twinkling with amusement. Emma gawked.

 _This woman will be the death of me,_ she thought.

That thought circulated in Emma’s head during the entire class. Regina would notice Emma looking, so she’d do something that involved flexing those goddamn perfect arms, and Emma would furiously blush. She supposed she deserved some punishment for her comment the previous day, but this was pure torture. She was going to let Regina know that she made her point when class ended, but Ruby intercepted her.

“Hey, Em! Want to grab lunch and study with me today? I could use some help memorizing the cranial nerves,” she asked hopefully.

“Sure thing,” Emma agreed. She turned and caught Regina’s eye, inclining her head in acknowledgement that Regina was right, and she should have never doubted her more than adequate muscle tone. Regina just smirked back.

Ruby drove them to a small coffee shop that sold a variety of lunch items. Ruby chose the drink with the most chocolate, while Emma went for one with the most espresso, and then some. They had been studying together for over an hour when Emma realized that Ruby’s hair was missing its signature red streaks.

“Rubes! Your hair is normal,” Emma exclaimed.

Ruby grimaced. “Ugh, don’t remind me. I feel naked without my red streaks. Freakin’ Dr. Mills threatened to report me to the dean for ‘non-compliance’ if I didn’t take care of it. I was too afraid to even argue that there are no rules against it. God, I know you like her, Em, but she can be a stone-cold bitch sometimes.”

Emma was sympathetic. She knew that she was, _for_ _some reason,_ the exception to the norm when it came to Dr. Mills. “I’m sorry, Ruby. If it makes you feel better, she definitely hates Nick more than you.”

Ruby raised both eyebrows and nodded, agreeing with that assessment. Nick had knocked over Regina’s lab bench the previous week, scattering her anatomy tools to the ground. Emma could’ve sworn she saw smoke coming out of Regina’s ears that day. She had actually kicked him out of lab and told him not to return until he learned how to walk without destroying things. Emma could admit that it was a little dramatic, but in her defense, the idiot had been walking backwards while talking to a girl.

“You know,” Ruby leaned towards her conspiratorially. “I heard the only reason she’s teaching this year is because it was part of her demotion.”

Emma’s eyebrows furrowed. Demotion? “What are you talking about?”

Ruby blinked. “Graham didn’t tell you?”

“Uh, no? You’re going to have to fill me in.”

Ruby sighed. “Well, I don’t know all the details, but apparently Dr. Mills used to be the head of the neurology department here. Which is like, super badass because she’s such a young doctor. They basically gave her the position right out of residency because she had great recommendations from her attendings. I heard she was on track to start a fellowship in neurosurgery, but something big happened and they stripped her of her title. Graham accidentally stumbled into a faculty meeting the other day when he forgot his water bottle in the auditorium. He heard them talking about how Dr. Mills was meeting the ‘conditions’ of her probation period. He said she looked super pissed, but she didn’t say anything. He wanted to stay longer, but he was too nervous about getting caught so he bolted. Poor kid didn’t even get his water bottle.”

Emma was trying to make sense of what she was hearing, but she was drawing a blank. “But you don’t know why she was demoted?”

Ruby shook her head. “No idea. I just know that teaching and cutting back on her time seeing patients is part of it.”

“Shit,” Emma muttered. She honestly thought that Regina chose not to work the longer hours that some of her colleagues did.

“Right? At least now we know why she hates us so much.”

“Speak for yourself,” Emma teased. “But really, it couldn’t have been _that_ bad, whatever it was. She obviously didn’t lose her license and she’s still actively seeing patients.”

“No idea, Ems. That woman is a mystery that will never be solved. On a brighter note, you’re going to the student government association’s fundraiser next weekend, right?”

They resumed their studying while discussing plans for the fundraiser night-out, but Emma was silently contemplating Ruby’s last statement. Regina was a bit of a mystery, but she had shared more of her story with Emma than with anyone else that she knew of. With this in mind, she was determined to keep unraveling it piece by piece.

***

Although her research with Regina wasn’t supposed to officially start until winter break, Emma told her that she was available to start anytime, promising that she could balance both research and classwork. That’s how Emma ended up spending her Saturday night reviewing three of Regina’s most recent studies and interpreting the data. Or at least… _trying_ to. Emma honestly had no idea what she was looking at. It wasn’t as if she’d never read a research article, it was just the first time she was asked to think critically about the results instead of just reading the abstract and skipping to the conclusion. She realized then that with her new job, she would probably be the one to _write_ the conclusion.

She threw herself back against her headboard and let out a load groan.

Zelena rounded the corner, sporting what she called her “guaranteed to get me laid” look, a dark green mini-dress and perfectly styled red curls. At least one of them was going to have a good time tonight.

“Are you dying or just being dramatic?” Zelena inquired.

“Dying, in a sea of research papers. Regina wants them by Monday because, and I quote, ‘that’s when I would have them done by if I were to do it myself, so show me that I don’t have to’. I’m going to have to research how to research.”

Zelena narrowed her eyes and grinned. “Oh, it’s Regina now, huh? Not Dr. Mills?”

Emma blushed and averted her eyes. “She said I could call her by her first name since we’re going to be working together a lot. It’s no big deal.”

“Lovely. So now I’ll get to hear, ‘Regina this, Regina that, Regina said…’ instead of ‘Dr. Mills’. You don’t hide lovesick very well, Emma. Just the other day you couldn’t shut up about how cute she looked trying to make a video she embedded into her PowerPoint play…”

Emma shot up from her reclined position. “I am not _lovesick._ I mean yeah, she’s smoking hot and she’s a great doctor and I like hanging out with her, but that doesn’t mean I’m lovesick. If anything, I’m lust-sick. That’s what this is.”

“Whatever you say, Emma. It’s not as if I don’t see you every single day and can tell that you completely change your demeanor whenever you talk about her. Totally not love, though. Not at all.” Zelena winked at her as she left.

“Be careful tonight!” Emma called after her.

“Always am! Have fun yearning for Regina!” Zelena yelled back, cackling.

Emma shook her head. She was _not_ lovesick. She didn’t even know what the hell that meant. Not wanting to dwell on that particular thought, she threw herself back into the research and tried her best to formulate some type of conclusion that didn’t sound like it came from a fifth grader. Once she finished, it was just past one in the morning. She emailed Regina and let her know she was finished and was hoping she could review her work before the actual due date, so she wasn’t disappointed. Emma was surprised that Regina responded almost immediately, given how late it was.

**[Regina.Mills@busm.edu](mailto:Regina.Mills@busm.edu): ** _Hello, Emma. Thank you for letting me know that you’re finished. If you’d like, we could meet for coffee and review them tomorrow afternoon. Of course, I understand if you are busy. Let me know a time that works for you and we can make it work._

**[Em.Swan@busm.edu](mailto:Em.Swan@busm.edu): ** _That would be perfect! I was planning on heading to Jahos tomorrow morning, so I can snag us some good seats. It’s the coffee shop that’s closest to campus. Want to meet me around 1?_

**[Regina.Mills@busm.edu](mailto:Regina.Mills@busm.edu): ** _Yes, that will work for me. If you order my coffee ahead of time, please ensure the cup says Mills rather than Milf. You will not be forgiven a second time._

Emma laughed out loud, quickly typing her reply.

**[Em.Swan@busm.edu](mailto:Em.Swan@busm.edu): ** _I’ll try my best, but I make no promises. Those baristas have a mind of their own. Can I ask why you’re up so late, anyways? I wasn’t expecting a response until the morning._

**[Regina.Mills@busm.edu](mailto:Regina.Mills@busm.edu): ** _Henry had a nightmare, so I let him sleep in my bed and read him a story until he fell asleep again._

**[Em.Swan@busm.edu](mailto:Em.Swan@busm.edu): ** _Poor little guy! I know he’ll sleep better this time around with you there. Here I was, thinking the elusive Dr. Mills was spending a night on the town, but instead she’s being super-mom!_

**[Regina.Mills@busm.edu](mailto:Regina.Mills@busm.edu): ** _Miss Swan, I think the lack of sleep has made you delirious. I haven’t spent a “night on the town” in quite some time, and I’m far from a super-mom. I think I will attempt to get some sleep now, as should you. Goodnight, Emma._

**[Em.Swan@busm.edu](mailto:Em.Swan@busm.edu): ** _Whatever you say :) Goodnight, see you tomorrow!_

That night, as Emma went to sleep with a goofy grin on her face, she dreamt of dark eyes and red lips smiling back at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> honestly have no idea how to format an email exchange, but i think it worked out alright?


	7. Glassroom, Bathroom

Emma was on her third coffee when Regina arrived. She walked in wearing a white cashmere sweater and a pair of dark-wash skinny jeans that hugged her frame, forgoing her usual pumps for a pair of heeled boots. Emma always thought she looked amazing in both her pencil skirts and scrubs, but Regina in jeans might be her new favorite thing.

Emma felt a bit plain in her skinny jeans and black long-sleeved shirt, but that wasn’t exactly an uncommon sensation for anyone in Regina’s presence. At least she’d washed and curled her hair last night, letting in hang in waves over her shoulders today. She even put on eyeliner, which was a rare occurrence now that her sleep schedule had taken a dive.

Emma waved her over to her booth in the back. Regina flashed her a smile and met her at the table, sitting in the seat across from her.

“Coffee for a Dr. Mills, with two L’s this time?” Emma grinned, handing over the hot vanilla latte that she ordered her just a few minutes ago. After spending a month shadowing Regina, she came to know what kind of coffee she would be in the mood for, and which days. She had also taken to just asking for her own name to be written on both cups. Just in case.

Regina gladly accepted. “Thank you, Emma. How did you know I wanted vanilla?”

Emma shrugged. “Figured it was a vanilla day. You always order something vanilla when you have a more relaxed schedule, but when you’re working longer, you just get an Americano. You know you have a super predictable coffee pattern, right?”

Regina blushed slightly. “I didn’t think you would have picked up on it so quickly,” she replied.

Emma tapped her head. “Good memory. It’s what got me here.”

“That and several other things, I’m sure. How was your weekend?”

“It was fine. Honestly kind of boring. I think I studied for almost fourteen hours yesterday. When the hell did we go over embryology?”

“Since I lectured on neural development in utero three days ago,” Regina answered dryly.

“Shit. Was I there that day? I don’t remember anything about fetal brains.”

Regina chuckled. “You were there, but I will admit you seemed a bit…distracted.”

Regina could practically see the lightbulb that went off in Emma’s head. “That was sleeveless dress day.”

The brunette raised her eyebrow. “Oh? You have a name for the day that I spent most of our lecture finding ways to prove that your comment about my small stature wrong?”

Emma’s eyes narrowed. “So you _were_ doing it on purpose the entire time.”

“Not the entire time. Just when you were staring,” Regina grinned over her coffee cup. “Now, show me what you came up with from looking over my research.”

Emma handed her the typed-out conclusion she came up with, as well as the papers Regina had given her to look over. Except they weren’t exactly in the same condition that they were given to her in…

“Jesus, Emma. What did you do to my papers?” Regina asked, staring wide-eyed at the multi-colored highlighting and scribbled notes in the margins.

“Uh, science?” Emma tried.

“We are going to have to work on your definition of science. And where are the numbers? I don’t see any mathematical analyses in your report.”

“Cut me some slack, alright? This was my first go at this.”

Regina looked up abruptly. “Have you not taken the medical research course?”

“The what, now?”

Regina sighed. “Medical students who participate in research at the hospital are supposed to take a research methodology course the summer before the year they plan on doing research.”

“Well, shit.”

“Eloquent, dear.”

“So, what do we do now?”

“I suppose we are going to sit here over coffee and I’m going to give you a crash course in how to effectively draw conclusions from a research article. Did you have any plans today?”

“Besides this? Nope.”

“Good, because this will take about two hours.”

Emma’s eyes widened comically. “You’re going to sit here and lecture me about my highlighting skills for two hours?!”

Regina’s eyes narrowed. “It’s not your highlighting skills, Emma. You have to be able to write a concise report with statistical findings, and you’ve given me three pages of analyses without offering a concrete result.”

Emma threw up her hands. “Regina, you gave me three papers to analyze. How was I supposed to know you only wanted a paragraph in response?”

“You would’ve known if you had taken the summer course,” she muttered.

The feelings of inadequacy that Emma always shot down within herself were bubbling up to the surface, and she couldn’t hold them back now. She had honestly been feeling like an imposter for the past month, but it wasn’t until now that the dam had finally broken. Emma gritted her teeth, “Fine. I’m not ready for this, apparently. I’m not going to waste your time when there’s clearly other people more fit for the job.” She got up from the booth, gathering her keys. Regina realized Emma was letting her doubts overwhelm her and tried to calm her down.

“Emma, that’s not what I meant-“

“It’s fine. I get it, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I don’t know why I thought this was something I could help you with.” She turned to go, but Regina grabbed her forearm.

“Emma, stop it. You aren’t getting out of this that easily,” she insisted, pulling Emma down into the booth, right next to her. Emma took a deep breath, about to tell her that she’s not trying to get out of it, she just can’t do this because-

“It’s _okay_ to not always know what you’re doing,” Regina said softly, her thumb moving comfortingly over the skin of Emma’s arm. “Everyone goes into a situation unprepared at some point in their lives. I’m not just going to abandon you because you didn’t take a stupid class. I shouldn’t have gotten frustrated with you, because I know how hard of a transition this is. A summer class was probably the least of your worries when you were preparing to begin medical school, am I right?”

Emma nodded, her eyes getting teary as soon as Regina said she wasn’t going to abandon her. She squeezed them together to try to hold the tears back. She didn’t want to cry in front of Regina, especially when she _knew_ she was overreacting. Sometimes it was just too hard to banish the thoughts of being not good enough. She felt a warm palm on her cheek, causing her to open her eyes and gaze into the soulful brown ones staring back at her. She couldn’t stop a tear from falling when she saw the kindness in Regina’s eyes.

Regina swiped at the tear with her thumb but left her hand in place.

“I’m sorry for what I said. I really don’t mind spending the afternoon here with you. Besides, I can almost guarantee that you’ll learn more from two hours with me than an entire summer with whatever idiot taught that course.”

Emma laughed and leaned into Regina’s touch. She brought her hand up to rest over Regina’s and moved them down to her lap. She gave her hand a squeeze, taking a deep breath. “Okay, doc. Show me how to make sense of this shit.”

Regina laughed softly, not letting go of Emma’s hand just yet. “I’ll excuse the fact that you called my life’s work ‘shit’ just this once. Let’s begin.”

Two hours later, they were almost finished. Emma realized she had been lumping every study together instead of comparing the groups based on patient demographics, the amount of treatments they received, and the duration of their treatment. She also realized that analyzing research involved a fuck-ton of math. The only thing keeping her focused on the numbers in front of her was the fact that Regina was sitting right next to her, their legs comfortably resting together underneath the table and the elbows touching at the top. Emma thought she’d be panicking at the proximity, but it felt so natural that she couldn’t help but relax into her. Regina leaned into her shoulder to show her the calculation she had done.

“So, now we have the number needed to treat analysis, which tells you how many patients you have to give a treatment to in order to reach a therapeutic effect. From each study, the number needed to treat is slightly different, so we will need to average them out. From there, we can determine if the treatment is worth the potential risks. Do the calculation and then tell me what you think it means,” Regina instructed.

Emma took the paper as Regina watched over her shoulder. She began creating a chart for each study to show the individual as well as the pooled results. As she was writing, her hair fell into her face, blocking her view of the paper (and Regina.) Before she could reach up to push it back, Regina’s hand was moving towards her face, tucking her hair behind her ear. She had a contemplative look on her face, but once she realized what she’d done, she pulled her hand back.

Clearing her throat, she just said, “Sorry. Are you finished?”

Trying to force her brain to form words after Regina had just touched her so affectionately, _twice_ , was more difficult than she thought. Finally, she responded, “Yep. Basically, what I’m getting out of this is that on average, you’d need to treat five patients to have a therapeutic effect. From what you’ve told me about other therapies and treatments, that sounds really fuckin’ beneficial.”

Regina bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing, but a half-smile was still showing through. “I agree with your conclusion, however, please refrain from using the phrase ‘really fucking beneficial’ in medical literature. As much as I appreciate the enthusiasm, the American Medical Association will not.”

Emma’s brain was short-circuiting over the fact that Dr. Regina Mills just said ‘fucking’, but she managed a shy smile in return anyways. “Got it. No cursing in publishing. I think I can manage.”

“I’m sure you can. Well, I’ve kept you here for much longer than we planned, so I suppose it’s time for me to leave.”

“Got somewhere to be?” Emma teased.

Regina thought for a moment. “The weather is actually quite nice today. I may take Henry to the park.”

Emma grinned. “The kid will love that. I hope you guys have fun.”

“Thank you, Emma. Would you like to have lunch with me tomorrow? I can show you how to submit research findings to a committee to be peer reviewed, if that’s something you’re interested in learning…” Regina bit her lip.

_Wait a minute, is she nervous? That’s my thing,_ Emma wondered.

“Yeah, definitely! Oh, before you go, I meant to ask you if you’re going to the fundraiser-thing at Hugo’s next weekend. Ruby said it’s for both faculty and students. I think she said the theme was roaring twenties or something, I was just paying attention to the open-bar part.”

Regina looked surprised. “Oh. I didn’t even realize that was next weekend. I’m not sure if I’ll be attending yet. I suppose it will depend on how much time I get to spend with Henry next week. Are you going?”

Emma nodded. “Yeah, since our exam is on Friday and we finally have a free weekend, I figured I could use a night out. I’m pretty sure I’ve forgotten what the rest of the world looks like past 10 p.m.”

Regina laughed. “Well, maybe I’ll see you there. Have a good day, Emma. Don’t study too much, your brain needs to rest.”

“My brain definitely agrees with you on that one.”

Regina smiled and looked at Emma expectantly. Emma stared back, wondering why Regina wasn’t moving.

“Um, Emma? I need you to let me out of the booth,” Regina stated.

Emma could have slapped herself. “I’m an idiot,” she grumbled, sliding herself out of the seat. Regina just chuckled, squeezing her shoulder as she passed.

“Goodbye, Emma.”

“Bye,” Emma waved sheepishly, hoping like hell she’d get to see what Regina Mills looked like when she went out at night.

***

It was the night of the fundraiser, and Emma hadn’t put this much thought into her appearance in a very long time. She was standing in the mirror, making sure her hair was in place. She styled it into a loose, curly ponytail with a braid on the side, letting her long blonde curls fall over one shoulder. She was wearing a dark green velvet jumpsuit with a plunging neckline that cinched around the waist. She was almost worried that it was too risque for a medical school fundraiser, but after seeing a photo of what Ruby was wearing, she felt downright prudish. She paired her look with black heels that easily added four more inches to her height. Emma wasn’t usually one for jewelry, but she decided to add a silver necklace with a small diamond pendant at the end. It was the only expensive piece of jewelry she owned, and tonight seemed like the right occasion for it.

Graham came over to make their pre-party drinks, looking handsome as always in his black dress shirt and pants…and dark green tie. Emma came out of her room and frowned.

“Seriously, Graham? We match! We look like one of those weird married couples who color-coordinate their outfits every time they go somewhere.”

“Chill out, Em. I didn’t know that’s what you were wearing!” he defended.

“Really? Because Ruby and I have only been talking about it for the past two flippin’ days.”

Graham rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean, I remember what Ruby said she was wearing…”

Emma’s jaw dropped. “You _like_ Ruby? Holy shit, have you asked her out? Why are you here with me and not showing up at her place with flowers? The hell is wrong with you?” Emma smacked him on the arm.

Graham rolled his eyes. “No, I haven’t asked her out. She doesn’t know. Besides, this isn’t the type of thing you take dates to. It’s just a party.”

Emma leaned on her counter. “I’ll let it slide this time, but you’re asking her on a date by the end of next week or I’m doing it for you.”

Graham groaned. “Fine, deal. Let’s down these shots and head out.”

They arrived slightly late because Emma had tried her hardest to convince Graham to change into a red tie to match Ruby (he refused), and Emma forgot her student ID in her apartment right before they were about to get into the Uber. She wasn’t going to miss out on the open bar, and that required a student or faculty ID card. They quickly found Ruby, Elsa, and August gathered around a small table, already full of trivia cards. Ruby informed Emma that the price they paid for their tickets covered both the open-bar and trivia games throughout the night, and Emma wondered just how many physicians were whipping out their checkbooks for this because there was no way those student ticket prices could raise enough money to cover this.

The bar was slightly crowded and there would definitely be a wait for drinks since every student had found their way to the line, so Emma opted to order for the group. The bar was decorated in glitzy gold chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and golden fairy lights adorning the walls, giving the place an air of sophistication. She noticed that while most people wore regular formal attire, some had gone full-on flapper for the theme. Making her way through the bodies, she spotted a lone figure sitting at the end of the bar, against the wall with an open seat beside her. Emma had a feeling she knew exactly who that was. She switched course and started towards her.

Regina Mills looked like the picture of elegance. Her dark locks were curled into a bun at the base of her neck, the shorter pieces curled in the front to frame her cheekbones. She was wearing a sleeveless black dress, low cut but not overly-so, decorated with small patterns of gold beading throughout. It ended in a small black fringe a couple inches above her knees. Looking down, she had on open-toed black heels that laced up around her ankles. She was absolutely stunning, and Emma couldn’t believe that every man and woman in the venue wasn’t competing to be the first to buy her a drink.

Regina couldn’t see her from where she sat, but Emma could see face clearly. She looked…lonely. Her dark red lips were downturned as she was absentmindedly stirring her drink. Emma felt a pang of sadness for the doctor. Regina was sitting at the bar all alone in a sea full of students and colleagues, and no one had even bothered to talk to her. Emma sped up, making sure she made it to her section without Regina noticing her.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Emma greeted over Regina’s shoulder.

The brunette startled, almost spilling her drink. Emma backtracked, “Shit, sorry! I didn’t know you had a full drink. Dammit, I was just trying to be smooth.”

Regina chuckled, her eyes instantly brightening once she realized it was Emma. “Very smooth indeed, Miss Swan.”

Emma sidled up on the barstool next to her and tried to signal the bartender, hoping he’d be more apt to come to a less crowded area to catch a break. She realized with frustration that the reason the lines were so packed up on the other side was because no one had wanted to order drinks right next to Regina. _Assholes._

“How long have you been here?” Emma asked.

“Unlike you, punctuality is important to me, so I arrived at nine.”

“Haven’t you heard of the phrase ‘fashionably late’? Besides, I forgot my student ID and it may have taken half an hour to find it…”

Regina snorted. “Of course, it did. I must say, I’m relieved to see you. I was getting very…bored.” The ‘lonely’ was left unsaid, but Emma could see it in her eyes.

Emma nodded. “I noticed. Didn’t you say awhile back that you had a friend that was a pediatrician? Is she coming tonight?” Emma couldn’t believe that _no one_ in this bar wanted to hang out with Regina.

“No, she doesn’t work for the hospital. She has her own private practice. I meant to tell you that she’d be happy to have you shadow any time you’d like. Her name is Dr. Belle French. She’s very sweet. Quite the opposite of me, so it’ll be nice to have a change of pace, don’t you think?” Regina joked.

Emma bumped her shoulder against Regina’s. “Whatever, you’re a big softie deep down, and you know it.”

Regina hummed in response. “Only for certain people,” she said, taking a sip of her martini, leaving a deep red lipstick stain on the glass. Emma’s eyes followed her every movement.

She had been so worried about snagging the seat next to Regina that she hadn’t even been able to take the time to appreciate how beautiful she looked up-close. Her dark eyes were dusted with smoky eyeshadow, framed by thick, black eyelashes. Her lipstick was a deeper shade of red than she usually wore, but like everything else, she wore it very well. 

“You’re staring, Miss Swan.”

Emma shook herself out of her trance. “Sorry, you just look gorgeous tonight. Not that you don’t look great every day, but…wow.”

Regina laughed lightly, looking down at her drink to hide the blush rising to her cheeks. “Flattery will get you everywhere.”

“Not flattery, just the truth,” Emma winked. Apparently, she had some newfound confidence. She believed it was what they called liquid courage.

“You’re quite the charmer, Emma Swan. You look beautiful as well. That green velvet compliments your lovely eyes.”

She may have been complimenting her eyes, but Emma didn’t miss the fact that Regina’s own had drifted down to Emma’s chest.

When their gazes locked again, the atmosphere suddenly changed. They were almost uncomfortably tense, but Emma couldn’t bring herself to look away. All she wanted to do was reach over and pull Regina onto her lap, wrap her arms around her waist, and…

They both jumped at the loud, high-pitched laugh coming from the make-shift stage at the front of the room. They turned to see Dr. Blanchard standing in front of a microphone, while a muscular, blonde man smiled down at her from his own microphone.

“I’m going to need another drink,” Regina grumbled.

Emma snorted. “Dear God, don’t tell me they’re going to duet. Who’s the dude with her?”

Regina grimaced. “David Nolan. He’s an internal medicine and pediatric physician at the hospital. He’s also in a perpetually good mood. It’s disgusting.”

Emma scrunched up her nose. “Sounds like a match made in heaven, then. Dr. Blanchard is ridiculously cheerful and in like, the worst situations. A guy came into the emergency department with a freakin’ knife sticking out of his chest and she asked him, ‘how are you?’ with a big, stupid smile on her face. If I was him, I would have said ‘Obviously not fuckin’ great, lady. How the hell are you?’.”

Regina almost spit out her drink, doubling over in laughter. “Oh god, she didn’t…”

“She did. I don’t even think I hid my facial expressions that time. God, it was so bad. What do you think they’re going to sing?”

Regina looked repulsed. “I wonder if we can make a run for it before it starts…”

They were already too late. The music started, and both Regina and Emma quickly recognized the song.

“They’re not…” Emma started, but the beat of Ice, Ice, Baby was already playing, and her jaw dropped. Mary-Margaret and David took turns rapping, and Emma thought her ears might be bleeding. Regina looked like she was going to be sick.

“As revolting as this is, I am taking great joy in the fact that Mary-Margaret is embarrassing the hell out of herself,” Regina commented.

“Honestly, I blame the person who had the bright idea to set up karaoke. Maybe we can sabotage their setup.”

“Or just drink ourselves into oblivion to numb the pain of watching those two idiots.”

“Cheers,” Emma said, clinking her class with Regina’s.

They watched (and laughed at) several more students who were brave enough to take a turn at belting out song lyrics in front of a massive crowd, for almost an hour. Emma had unconsciously scooted her bar stool closer to Regina, so much that their legs were pressed together. They were laughing at a drunk Mary-Margaret trying to order a complicated drink across from them when someone jabbed at Emma’s back. She turned around to face a slightly angry Ruby, who was looking down at her with her hands on her hips.

“Emma, what the hell? You said you were getting us drinks like an hour and a half ago. Have you been up here this whole time?” Ruby snapped.

Emma didn’t even have to look over at Regina to know that she was giving Ruby her best Evil Queen glare.

“Miss Lucas, there is no need to be rude. We were discussing our plans for research meetings in the upcoming weeks, and then we paused to watch these imbeciles embarrass themselves. Perhaps if you spent more time on your studies rather than shopping for dresses that you can’t even bend over in, you’d be able to have purposeful and intellectual conversations as well,” Regina snapped right back at her.

Ruby was shocked into silence, standing with her mouth hanging open. She finally regained her ability to speak. “Alright, yeah, I’m sorry. Just…come back whenever you’re done, kay? We’re missing you over here.” She bolted out as fast as she could, Regina glaring at her until she was out of sight.

Emma sighed. “I should get back to them, but I really don’t want to.”

Regina inclined her head. “You don’t want to spend time with your friends?”

Emma shook her head. “Not when I’d rather be up here with you.”

Regina’s lips parted, and she looked at Emma like she had just uttered the most outlandish thing she had ever heard. She bit her lip, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. “You should go back to them, Emma. I don’t…it’ll look a bit strange if we’re together all night.”

Emma smiled sadly. She didn’t regret what she’d said, but she realized that in a bar full of students and doctors, this wasn’t exactly the best time for any great revelations. “Yeah, you’re right. Let me know when you’re leaving so I can tell you goodnight, okay?”

Regina smiled back. “Okay.”

Emma took her drink back to her table, where she was immediately hit with questions about why she was gone so long, if she was insane, if Regina had somehow gotten ahold of her heart and was controlling her, when she started doing research with Dr. Mills and why the hell didn’t she tell them...

“It was out of the blue, alright? I was shadowing her, and we started talking about research. She just happened to have a position available.”

“No surprises there,” August quipped. He had gotten onto Regina’s bad side lately after arguing that there were two correct answers for one of the questions she had written on their last exam. He was wrong, obviously, but he didn’t realize that. Regina had let him know in a not-so-gentle manner.

“Can you guys please cool it on the insults? Regardless of what you think of her, I really like her field of study and she’s been nothing but helpful to me. Maybe she’d be nicer to everyone if they didn’t call her the Evil Queen every fucking second,” Emma ranted, downing her fourth drink in one gulp.

The others were at a loss for words until Graham was brave enough to reach out. “Okay, from now on, we won’t give you shit about Dr. Mills. We’re sorry,” he apologized, slinging an arm around Emma’s shoulder.

She gave him a wry smile and leaned in briefly. She let his arm hang on her shoulder until the weight of it started to get bothersome. She suspected it was just a retaliation to how Ruby had plastered herself at August’s side. Which Emma really didn’t understand, because Graham was Graham and August was…well, August. As she was ducking out under his arm, she caught sight of Regina making a beeline towards the bathrooms. She excused herself to go to the restroom as well, following Regina to the back.

She pushed the door opened to find Regina standing over the sink, clutching the edges of the granite counter. She could see the rise and fall of her chest and the way her jaw was clenching and releasing repeatedly.

“Regina?” Emma started towards her. She still didn’t acknowledge her. Emma curled her hand around Regina’s bicep, giving it a small squeeze. “Hey? What’s going on? What happened?”

Regina was silent for ten seconds, then twenty more…

“Are you here with him?” Regina asked without looking at her, her hands turning white from gripping the counter.

“Who? Graham? Yeah, we came together. Why?”

Regina’s eyes flashed with hurt. “Nothing,” she shook her head, turning towards the exit. Emma was confused, both by the look on her face and her abrupt departure. Just as Regina made it to the door and was about to fling it open, Emma realized her mistake. They were wearing matching colors. He had his fucking arm around her. _Fucking hell._

“Wait!” she yelled, pulling Regina back by her wrist. “Not _with_ him. We’re just friends.”

Emma didn’t know what prompted her to say what she said next. Maybe it was the four drinks at the bar and the two shots beforehand. Maybe it was the look of relief settling onto Regina’s face. Or maybe she was just tired of dancing around…whatever this was between them.

“He’s not the one I want,” Emma said quietly, giving Regina shy smile. She stroked Regina’s wrist with her thumb, willing her to step in towards her.

Regina’s answer was a small intake of breath as her eyes flickered down to Emma’s lips. She turned in Emma’s grasp, tentatively placing both hands on Emma’s waist as she met her eyes again. Emma could see the pure want sparkling in dark brown orbs, but Regina didn’t move forward.

Emma was almost confused at why she was moving so slow, but then she understood. No matter what they were feeling for each other, at the end of the day, one of them was the student and the other was the professor. Regina couldn’t make the first move because she would never want Emma to feel pressured. Emma could have cried at how careful Regina was being with her, the way that no one else ever had. If Emma wanted this, she would have to stop being a coward and go for it. So, she did.

Emma felt like her world exploded as soon as their lips touched. The kiss started off soft and cautious, until Regina laced both arms around Emma’s waist and pulled her in closer. Emma placed one hand on the side of Regina’s face and the other found its way through soft, dark locks as she deepened the kiss.

Emma gave her hair a slight tug and Regina released a soft moan into her mouth. Her tongue lightly caressed Emma’s bottom lip, a silent plea for entry that Emma was more than willing to oblige. Emma backed Regina into the edge of the sink as they both held on to each other and kissed like they were afraid the other would disappear.

They could have been kissing in that bathroom for one minute or a hundred, Emma couldn’t tell the difference. It ended all too soon when someone barged in the door.

They both frantically pulled away at the same time, pretending to be occupied with something else. The chatter from the newcomers overpowered the sounds of their heavy breathing.

When the women left, Emma was expecting Regina to leave as well. To tell her that it was a mistake and that it would never happen again.

Instead, she turned towards Emma and prompted her to move backwards into the last stall, crashing their lips together as they went. As soon as they were inside, Emma pushed Regina back against the door, locking it with one hand while cupping the nape of her neck with the other. Regina tugged on Emma’s bottom lip with her teeth, then soothing it over with her tongue. Emma moaned and pulled Regina’s hair out of its bun, lacing her fingers through it to tilt her head back and press her lips across the angle of Regina’s jaw. She heard a shaky intake of breath from above her, spurring her on.

Emma trailed open-mouthed kisses down Regina’s neck, occasionally nipping not hard enough to leave a mark, but just enough to make her tremble in her arms. She felt Regina’s hands slip lower onto her ass, pulling her forwards, as close as they could get.

“Emma,” Regina whispered. “God, Emma...”

Emma’s hands made their way down Regina’s body, pausing to palm her breasts and brush over the hard peaks with her thumbs. She did this several times, Emma’s mouth grazing over her collarbone, until Regina whimpered above her, throwing a leg around Emma’s waist in an attempt to find some friction. She urged Emma’s head back up and their lips met once again. Emma let her hands wander farther down Regina’s body until she was inching up the bottom of her dress, her hands running over smooth olive thighs as she went. Emma was trailing her fingers up her inner thigh teasingly, closer, closer, and closer…

“Emma? You good in here?” Ruby called.

After a moment of silence, Emma replied, “Yeah, just…the zipper on my jumpsuit broke, but I fixed it. I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Alright! I’ll get us another round!”

Emma let out a breath of relief as Regina let her forehead fall against Emma’s chest, her arms still wrapped around her back.

“Emma?”

“Yeah?”

“You don’t have a zipper.”

“Fuck.”

Regina laughed quietly, throwing her head back against the stall door. Her hair was disheveled, and her kiss-swollen lips were almost free of lipstick. Emma thought she had never looked more beautiful. She was also sure that she was wearing the majority of that lipstick.

Regina leaned in and Emma thought they were going to pick up where they left off, but Regina just used her thumb to wipe the lipstick smears from Emma’s face. She rested her hands on Emma’s arms, gently rubbing up and down as she sighed.

“You have to go back out there,” she whispered.

“Yeah,” Emma replied. “Can we…are we going to talk about this? Or is this a one-off that’s never going to happen again?”

Regina studied her face for a moment. “Is that what you want?”

“Fuck, no,” Emma replied immediately.

Regina flashed her a hopeful smile, but it didn’t last. “We…this is going to get complicated. There’s a lot we need to discuss, Emma.”

“But not tonight?”

Regina shook her head. “Not tonight. We’ve both been drinking, and your friends are getting worried. I’m going to call a cab for myself while you hurry and make your way back to them. I’ll see you soon,” she whispered, kissing Emma softly.

“Goodnight,” Emma whispered back. She wanted nothing more than to stay and sort everything out right then and there, but she knew that Ruby was apt to barge into the bathroom again at any moment. She walked out, knowing that Regina would wait several minutes and then make her exit as well.

Emma was deliriously happy for the rest of the night, but as she started sobering up, she wondered just how the hell they were going to do this. _It could all come crashing down,_ she thought. Several moments later, _But she’s worth the risk,_ she decided _._


	8. Confrontations and Confirmations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> thank you again for all the comments, I really appreciate them <3 this chapter is shorter than usual, but I promise the next one will be much longer and important. sadly I just haven't had the time to make sure that I get everything right, but I'm hoping to update again after my exam next week.

Emma’s hopefulness lasted for all of twelve hours. Sunday morning passed without having heard anything from Regina after their kiss. Well, _kiss_ was putting it mildly, but that only made things more nerve-wracking. Emma tried not to dwell on it too much because it was the weekend and Regina was probably making up for lost time with Henry, but _still._ She started to become nauseous on Monday afternoon when there was still radio silence. Emma hadn’t even been able to focus on her classwork, so she ended up skipping class on Tuesday morning to catch up. She decided to head over to the hospital and grab lunch with Graham or Ruby before confronting Regina herself.

Emma was just coming up the stairs outside of their classroom when she heard arguing from around the corner.

Graham had apparently made the fatal mistake of stopping Regina in the hallway in an attempt to ask a question about her lecture. Emma stayed hidden, knowing she shouldn’t begin her own confrontation with an already-pissed-off Regina.

“Mr. Humbert, get out of my way,” Regina growled. She pushed the down button on the elevator several times.

“But I have a question…” he tried, just as the elevator doors opened.

“Then ask Whale. If you don’t step away from me in three seconds, I will throw you down the elevator shaft,” she snapped. Regina stepped inside the elevator, but Graham quickly put his hand against the door, preventing it from closing.

“But Dr. Mills…”

“Have you ever heard of email, Mr. Humbert? I am certain that your question is not a matter of life or death, so you are going to send me an email and I will answer you when I have time. Surely even you can manage a simple electronic correspondence. Or is that not in your realm of capabilities?” she thundered back. Graham nodded meekly, dropping his arm. Regina slammed a fist against the close-door button.

Graham stood in the middle of the hallway, looking stunned. Emma finally left her hiding spot to stand next to him, clapping him on the shoulder.

“Nice one, dude,” she muttered.

“I think my soul left my body,” he replied, still visibly shaken. “Where were you this morning?”

“I got behind yesterday so I skipped this morning to catch up. I’ll just watch the recorded lectures in the library later.”

“Want to get some food first? You’ll need your energy for Dr. Mills’ lecture today. She went through everything so fast and everyone was too afraid to ask questions after the first guy got a death glare for making her go back to a previous slide.”

Emma agreed, silently hoping that whatever put Regina in a bad mood would dissipate before she found her later because she had several questions for her. As they were eating lunch, Emma’s phone vibrated. It was an email from Regina asking why she wasn’t in class today and if everything was alright. Emma could feel the anger rising in her, because of course everything wasn’t freaking _alright,_ and she knew that it was now or never.

That was what landed her on her current mission to find Regina despite her sour mood and demand to know why the hell she had been ignored for the past three days. She made her way to third floor of the hospital, expertly dodging the busy staff now that she knew the way by heart. She stormed up to the front desk and asked Jana, Regina’s receptionist, if she was in the office.

Jana looked uncomfortable. “Yes, but I don’t think now is a good time. Dr. Mills doesn’t seem to be a having a great morning…”

“Yeah, well, neither am I,” Emma grumbled, then put on her best professional face. “I’m her research student. I have some important…paperwork to drop off for her. It’ll be quick, I swear.”

Jana relented, sensing that Emma was not going to be deterred. “Fine, go ahead. But don’t say I didn’t warn you when she chases you out of there. A nurse has been hit with a shoe before.”

Emma snorted, but carried on anyways. She rounded the hallway and didn’t even bother knocking on Regina’s door, the risk of shoe-throwing be damned. The doctor was hunched over several documents on her desk, glasses resting on the slope of her nose and her hands pressing against her forehead.

“Miss Swan,” Regina started, not even looking up from whatever she was doing.

“Cut the ‘Miss Swan’ crap, Regina,” Emma snapped. “You said we were going to talk, so let’s talk. Maybe it hasn’t been long enough for me to be this pissed off, but I’m going kind of crazy here. I haven’t been able to focus for three fucking days. I’m so behind in class because all I can think about is if I’ve screwed everything up between us. You don’t even have the decency to shoot me an email and be like, ‘Hey, remember how you almost fucked me up against a bathroom stall? Sorry, not interested anymore’. But _no_ , you just let me sit and suffer in silence. So just fucking tell me, what are we doing?” Emma took a deep breath, ending her rant. Regina remained silent, eyes still downcast.

Emma hadn’t really looked at Regina during her tirade, but now that she focused in on her, she was shocked.

Regina looked terrible, and that was a hard feat to accomplish for her. Her normally expertly styled hair was thrown back haphazardly into a ponytail, short locks of dark brown hair hanging messily around her face. Her features were completely devoid of any makeup, and even her dark blue shirt was slightly wrinkled. Emma had never seen this woman wear a wrinkled shirt in her life.

Emma’s stomach sank when Regina finally met her eyes. The brunette had tears streaming down her face, and her eyes were red and puffy like she’d been crying long before Emma arrived.

“Please stop yelling at me,” Regina whispered in a small voice.

“Oh, shit,” Emma whispered. She turned to lock the office door before running behind Regina’s desk. Emma bent down on her knees to reach Regina’s eye level as she was slumped in her chair. Emma rested her palms on Regina’s knees, squeezing lightly.

“Shit, Regina, I’m sorry for going off on you. What’s wrong?”

Regina closed her eyes, placing her own hands on top of Emma’s. “I didn’t mean to ignore you. I’ve just had the most horrible week and I…I can’t even _think_ right now with everything going on. I’m sorry, I should have called you or something but I…”

Emma shushed her, seeing that Regina was about to start crying again. “It’s okay, Gina. I’ve got you, okay?” Emma gently reached up to take the distressed woman’s glasses off.

Regina let out a choked sob and threw her arms around Emma’s neck. She was shocked for a moment but quickly recovered, wrapping both arms around Regina’s waist and holding her tight. When Regina finally pulled away, Emma moved with her.

She gave Emma a questioning look, to which Emma replied, “Scoot over, that chair is big enough for the both of us.”

Regina gave a watery chuckle and moved her lower body up so Emma could sit, ending up halfway on top of the blonde’s lap. She snuggled into her side and let Emma wrap her arms around her again.

“Want to talk about it?” Emma tried. She knew she deserved an explanation, and she was still a little upset about being ignored, but she didn’t want to pressure the doctor when she was so visibly distressed. However, most of Emma’s anger had dissipated as soon as she saw Regina’s tears. _I’m so whipped already,_ Emma thought.

Regina sniffled. “Do you remember when I told you that Henry’s regular babysitter was moving to New York?” Regina began. Emma nodded, remembering how frantic Regina had been about finding a replacement last week. She continued, “I thought it would take too long to interview other candidates, so I enrolled Henry in daycare. He absolutely loathes it. On Monday morning, he screamed as soon as I sat him down in the activity room and he begged me to take him home. I thought he just needed a moment to adapt to a new environment, so after half an hour of trying to calm him down, the supervisor finally told me to go ahead and go to work, that they’d take care of him. Around lunch time, they called and said he wouldn’t eat without me there, so I canceled on a patient and drove over. He was fine for a little while after that. When I picked him up in the afternoon, they said he had a good time once he started playing with all the toys. But Monday evening, he refused to eat his dinner and wouldn’t go to sleep because he didn’t want to go back to ‘that place’.”

Regina rubbed her eyes, taking another shaky breath before continuing. “I didn’t sleep at all last night because he was up almost every hour, screaming because he didn’t want to go to daycare the next day. God, Emma, when I dropped him off this morning it was heartbreaking. He was begging me, ‘mommy, no, mommy, don’t go,’. He was sobbing, I was sobbing, the supervisor probably wanted to rip her own hair out, it was terrible. I called my mother last night after he threw a tantrum at dinner,” she laughed humorlessly. “and I asked her if she could help me this week since she’s taking some time off work. Do you know what she said? She told me that I should never have gotten myself into this situation if I couldn’t handle raising a child by myself. As if it was ever supposed to be like this, and she knows that. I’ve begged Gold to let someone else take over my classes so I can take care of Henry and still see patients every day, but he refuses. I have no choice but to let another neurologist take over my in-patient cases, those that are hospitalized. I have to keep my own clinic running.”

Emma shook her head and held Regina tighter. “I’m sorry, Regina. I didn’t know…”

“And to top it all off,” Regina went on, “I received an email this morning informing me that my research funding has been cut by a third. I can’t even pay your research assistant wages, Emma, and that was the first thing I thought about. I would need volunteers, and obviously no one is lining up to work with me. I just don’t know what to do about _anything_ anymore _.”_

Emma pressed a kiss to her temple, trying her best to comfort the brunette. “Your mom sounds like a real piece of work.”

Regina laughed harshly. “That she is. I shouldn’t be surprised by now at her refusal to support me when I do something she disagrees with. It was the same during college. She was more than happy to pay for my schooling when I was going to become a politician, but as soon as I switched my major to pre-med, she pulled back everything. I was lucky enough to have scholarships that paid for my tuition and housing, but I had to work part-time to pay for a phone and to prevent my car from getting re-possessed. I know it doesn’t even compare to what you went through, but it shows what kind of person my mother is. She could have helped me, especially after my father died, and she didn’t. I think she enjoys watching me struggle.”

Emma loosened Regina’s hair from its ponytail and ran her fingers through her locks, scratching at her scalp occasionally. Regina’s breathing started to slow, and Emma could tell her attempts at calming her down were working.

Regina took another deep breath. “I should have called you on Sunday, but I still didn’t know what I was going to say. I was trying to give Henry the best day possible because I knew he wouldn’t be happy with his new arrangement, but that is no excuse. I should have at least let you know…”

Emma shook her head. “I don’t blame you at all. You’re under so much stress right now, and I just barged in here and made it worse.”

Regina nuzzled her neck. “We will have to improve our communication skills if this is to work.”

Emma pulled back so she could see Regina’s face. “You mean…you want this to work?”

Regina wiped her eyes and moved to straddle Emma. She cupped her face in her hands, tilting the blonde’s head back.

“I do. But I think…maybe we should define what _this_ is, first. Although I definitely enjoyed our little tryst in the bathroom last weekend, I need to know that this wouldn’t just be some fleeting attraction for you. Our positions here are extremely fragile, and I won’t jeopardize my career and more importantly, your future, for a fling. I care about you a great deal, Emma Swan. This would be so much more to me than just a physical relationship, and I’m hoping you feel the same.” Regina bit her lip, waiting on Emma's reply. 

Emma felt her heart tighten in her chest as she pulled Regina further into her. “You know, at first I tried to convince myself that it was just some ridiculously out-of-control lust because, god, have you seen yourself? But I realized those were just lies I told myself because I was convinced you would never return my feelings. The more I got to know you, the _real_ you behind the cold exterior you show everyone else, the more I realized that I couldn’t imagine not seeing your face or hearing your voice every day. The best parts of my day are the ones that I get to spend with you. I mean, for fuck’s sake, I literally sat in a room with dead bodies for an entire month just so I could see you. I know the risks here, Regina. You’re worth every single one.”

Regina’s breath hitched, and they were kissing in an instant. Regina’s hands found purchase in Emma’s blonde locks, and Emma held Regina against her body like she was afraid she would disappear if she let go. The same urgency that overtook them the night of the party was back as Emma let her hands slip under Regina’s shirt, slowly sliding up her back. Regina trailed her tongue along Emma’s bottom lip before giving it a soft tug with her teeth, making Emma moan into her mouth. One of Emma’s hands reached down to squeeze Regina’s ass, bringing her center down harder onto Emma’s leg. Regina whimpered at the sensation, tightening her grip on Emma’s neck as her tongue slid against the blonde’s.

Emma wanted nothing more than to splay Regina out on top of her desk and show her all the ways she wanted her, but Regina pulled back.

“Not here,” Regina said, slightly out of breath. She thought for a moment, her forehead pressed against Emma's. “Come over for dinner tonight. Now that we're on the same page, we need to figure out...the logistics.”

Emma grinned, because that was such a _Regina_ way to refer to how they would hide their developing relationship. She was about to tell her how much she would love to join her for dinner, when Regina’s phone rang. The brunette reached behind Emma to access her coat that was draped over the chair, pulling out her cell. She all but collapsed onto Emma when she saw that it was Henry’s daycare.

“Hello?” Regina answered, sounding as exhausted as she felt. Emma just tightened her hold on her, wanting to help however she could.

“He is?” Regina asked, surprise evidence in her voice. She turned around in Emma’s lap to face her, absentmindedly toying with strands of Emma’s hair as she listened to whoever was speaking.

Her face suddenly brightened with the first full smile Emma had seen since the night of the party.

“Oh, I’m so glad he’s having a good time. Thank you for letting me know, I’ve been so worried all morning. Okay, great. I’ll be there at two to pick him up. Goodbye,” she ended the conversation. She smiled brightly at Emma. “He’s doing great today. They said he’s starting to warm up to the supervisors and is even playing next to other children. I’m so relieved.”

Emma kissed her again. “I’m glad he’s having a good time. That’s one less thing for you to stress about today.”

The doctor sighed, still playing with Emma’s hair. “Yes, for now. I just…I still feel like I’m not being a good enough mother to him. I can’t help but think he would have been happier with a more stable family instead of me,” Regina confessed sadly. Emma wanted to reassure her that she was a great mom and that Henry surely wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, but Regina noticed that she was running behind schedule. “I hate to kick you out, but I really need to get ready to see several patients before I have to pick Henry up, and I look like a complete mess. Would you like to come over around seven tonight? That will give me enough time to get dinner ready and put Henry to bed.”

Emma waved her off. “Seven is great, but don’t worry about dinner. I can pick something up for us so you don’t have to spend your evening cooking. I know you want to hang out with the little dude as much as possible,” Emma paused, recalling what Regina had said about not feeling like a good parent. “And Regina? You’re a great mom. I can tell by the way you talk about Henry and all the things you do for him. You’re always telling me how happy he is when you guys go places and when he learns new things or discovers a new food that he likes. Don’t doubt yourself on that.”

Regina cupped Emma’s cheek, her thumb brushing along pale skin. “Thank you, Emma. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Regina got up from Emma’s lap and held out her hand, which Emma accepted immediately, trying not to let the butterflies in her stomach overwhelm her. Regina promised her she would text her the address immediately as they walked towards the door. Emma pulled her in for one more long kiss before leaving. She could have gotten lost in the feeling of Regina’s soft lips against hers, but she didn’t want to make the doctor late for her appointments. She reluctantly pulled back.

“I’ll see you later. I hope your day gets better,” Emma said, tucking a strand of Regina’s hair behind her ear.

“It already has,” Regina smiled softly.

***

Once Emma was in the safety of her own apartment, she couldn’t help but break out in a happy dance and grin like an idiot. Regina actually _wanted_ a relationship with her. It felt surreal. After twenty minutes of jumping around to calm her nerves, she finally forced herself to study a bit before her dinner date with Regina. So what if she paused the video to stare at the professor during her lecture once or twice…or fifty times?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if anyone is confused about Emma "watching" Regina towards the end, all of our lectures in medical school are recorded to where half of the screen shows the professor and the other half shows the powerpoint, and you can minimize/maximize however you want.   
> I also want to note the differences between in-patient vs. clinic for anyone who was confused about the part where Regina had to cut back on seeing patients. In-patients are those who are actually admitted to the hospital (and in Regina's case, require a neurology consultation), while clinics see patients for regular appointments. Clinics can be in hospitals as well, just like Regina's in this story. While clinics typically have multiple doctors, Regina is the only one running hers here, which is why she is cutting back on hospital hours rather than clinic hours.


	9. Middle Names

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, thank you for all the kind comments! tags have been updated accordingly :)
> 
> tw for addiction, drug use, and overdose

Emma had just changed into her favorite pair of black jeans and a dark green button-up when her phone rang. Her stomach sank, thinking that it was Regina calling to cancel. She let it ring several times before gathering enough courage to answer. To her surprise, it was Mary-Margaret Blanchard. _Weird,_ Emma thought. _Wait, when did I give her my number?_

“Hey, Dr. Blanchard,” Emma answered, trying for a cheerful tone. She normally didn’t mind talking to the excessively happy woman, but she was too nervous about her date to focus on anything else.

“Emma, we’ve been over this. Call me Mary-Margaret, please. I just wanted to let you know that David has some free time next week and he would be happy to have you come to his clinic for shadowing.”

Emma perked up at that. She definitely wanted to learn more about pediatrics in the hospital setting, and even Regina agreed that Dr. Nolan was a good person to network with. “That’d be awesome, thank you so much! I can come pretty much any day. I don’t think I’m shadowing Regina next week and she’s not very strict with our research schedule, so whatever works for him is fine with me.”

“Great, great,” Mary-Margaret went quiet for a few moments. “You’re spending an awful lot of time with _Regina_ lately,” Mary-Margaret pointed out, accentuating the fact that Emma slipped up and called her by her first name. Something no student would ever be allowed to do when it came to the hot-tempered neurologist.

Emma swore to herself. Was she suspicious? “Well, yeah…I just really like her specialty. I’ve always been interested in pediatrics, but I think maybe I’d like to specialize in pediatric neurology or something. I always shadow Dr. Mills because it’s not like she has a waiting list, so she’s always available when I am. And she offered me a research position even though I didn’t take the required class.”

_Motherfucker, I’m making this worse. Shut up, Swan!_

“That’s lovely, Emma. It does sound like she’s helping to enhance your learning experience. Just be careful, okay? You’re a first-year student and I’d hate to see your reputation tarnished because of her.”

Emma was taken aback. “Reputation? Look, if this is about the demotion or whatever, I don’t care. Her patients love her and she’s nothing but professional. I don’t know why or how she ended up losing her position as chief, but even if I did, it wouldn’t change my opinion of her. She has a lot on her plate, and she shouldn’t have to worry about people talking sh-, _crap_ , about her all the time.”

Emma always seemed to forget that it was actually bad form to curse in front of your superiors. Regina just let it slide because she thought Emma’s unique way with words was hilarious.

Mary-Margaret sighed. “I know, Emma. I realize it may come off as me disliking her, but that’s not true. I’ve always admired Regina, but I also know that not everyone feels the same. She has made mistakes and unfortunately those mistakes have put her in this current position. She-“

“Look, Dr. Blanchard, I appreciate you looking out for me. It’s nice to have someone in my corner, you know? But if Dr. Mills wants to tell me about whatever happened, I think we should let her decide when that happens. I just…it feels like betraying her, to find out from someone else. Especially when she’s helped me out so much.”

Mary-Margaret was silent on the other end for a moment before recovering. “Right, I understand that completely. I’ll let you get back to studying, but remember that you can always call if you need anything.”

“Thanks, it means a lot,” Emma said sincerely.

They hung up and Emma blew out a sigh of relief. _Off to a great start with keeping a secret relationship a secret._

***

Emma knocked on Regina’s door at exactly 7:03 p.m. She tried her best to be on time, but Emma was unfamiliar with the subdivision Regina lived in, since she never ventured to what she had deemed the “swanky” part of town. The doctor lived in a gorgeous two-story home with an immaculate lawn, but Emma expected nothing less from the refined Dr. Mills. When Regina answered, Emma couldn’t help but check her out.

The brunette had changed out of her professional attire and now downed a pair of leggings, a lilac sweater than Emma guessed was cashmere judging by how soft it looked, and a pair of wool socks. Although she had forgone makeup when Emma saw her earlier, she had reapplied her usual light layer and dusted her lashes with mascara but left her lips bare. Her hair was down with a slight curl to it, the ends falling just past her shoulders.

Every time Emma saw her, she seemed to get even more stunning.

“Are you just going to stand there and stare at me, or are you going to come in?” Regina questioned, a smirk playing over her lips.

Emma shook her head, snapping out of her trance. “Uh, yeah, sorry. You just look really pretty tonight,” Emma replied shyly. She reached down and grabbed her bag of takeout, missing the blush on Regina’s face. “Anyways, I brought burgers.”

Regina’s eyes immediately widened. “Mad Cow?” she asked.

“The one and only.”

Regina licked her lips, and Emma tried to contain her laughter at the woman who looked like she was about to start drooling. It was nice for the tables to be turned, for a change. Emma started to go inside, but apparently, she wasn’t quick enough because Regina grabbed her arm and all but dragged her towards the kitchen. Emma’s head whipped back and forth, trying to take in the interior of the house. It was immaculately decorated in a way that reflected Regina's personality, but she caught a glimpse of scattered toys all around the living room. She smiled, thinking of Regina sitting on the floor, watching her son push a toy truck around or building blocks with him. Emma stopped to study the framed photos of Henry and Regina on the wall despite the arm that was not so gently leading her away.

Regina turned around, her smile widening when she realized what Emma was doing. Her eyes were locked on the photo of Regina and Henry at what looked like his second birthday party, his arms wrapped around Regina’s neck and her smiling down at him.

Emma grinned. “Cute kid,” she said quietly.

“Yes, he is,” Regina agreed. She bit her lip as Emma faced her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I hope you don’t mind that I asked you over after he fell asleep. I do want you to meet him soon, if that’s…if that’s something you want, but he’s just getting used to daycare and I was afraid that something else new would be too much for him in a short timespan.”

Emma sat the takeout bag on the ground so she could rest her hands on Regina’s hips. “I understand that, completely. The last thing I want is to stress him, or you, out any more than necessary. I’d love to meet him when you’re ready.”

Regina bounced up on her toes, lacing her arms around Emma’s neck and pressing a sweet kiss to her lips. Emma chuckled at the height difference now that Regina was no longer sporting her signature pumps.

“Tiny,” Emma giggled, kissing her again before she could complain. Regina smacked her arm before pushing her back, once again dragging her towards the kitchen.

“As much as I love doing _that_ , I’m absolutely starving.”

Emma took out the containers and Regina immediately grabbed hers, heading to the dining room. Emma chuckled to herself, watching the brunette speed-walk to her chair. Emma sat down opposite of her and decided to dig in as well. She had brought Regina the same thing she ordered during their first dinner together, while she decided to branch out this time. Emma’s burger was loaded with hash-browns, beer cheese, bacon, and a fried egg, all topped with hot sauce. As soon as she bit into it, egg yolk began pouring all over the burger.

Regina looked up at her mid-bite, eyes going wide. “Emma Swan, you are messier than my two-year old.”

“Shrrry,” Emma mumbled through a mouthful of food. She swallowed, then shot Regina a huge grin.

Regina shook her head. “I’ll be right back.”

Emma arched her eyebrow when Regina returned from the kitchen and stood behind her. Before she knew it, Regina had wrapped a bib around her neck with dinosaurs printed all over it that read "Rawr!".

“Seriously?!” Emma exclaimed. Still, she continued to demolish her burger.

“Since you insist on ordering the messiest burger on the menu, absolutely.”

“I was very tempted to order you the same thing, but I knew you’d blow a gasket if there was anything less than three vegetables on yours.”

“Not all of us have the metabolism of an Olympic sprinter. You might re-think your choices once you start your cardiovascular course.”

Emma shrugged. “Maybe, but for now, I shall live in blissful ignorance.”

Regina laughed, shaking her head as she delicately ate her food. Emma got them cheese fries to share, which she knew Regina secretly loved but would never admit to. She saw the way the health-conscious doctor eyeballed her artery-clogging cafeteria food.

“Well, one thing is for sure...you have been eating much healthier since I started bringing you dinner leftovers,” Regina pointed out.

“Yeah, thanks for that, by the way. No one told me that medical school will basically squash all your cooking time.” Not that Emma was a great cook anyways, but _whatever._

“It’s no big deal, Emma. Besides, most recipes make at least four servings, and it’s just me and a toddler here. Leftovers get boring when you’re the only one to eat them.”

“Then I will forever be your human garbage disposal, just send all that amazing food down this drain.”

Regina had to hide her face in her hands, because she was desperately trying to not choke on her food from laughing so hard. Emma adored that she could make Regina laugh so easily, especially when the brunette was usually as stoic as they come.

When they finished, Regina quickly cleaned up the kitchen and told Emma to make herself comfortable on her couch. Emma pulled the throw blanket off the back of the couch and curled up on the softest sofa cushions she had ever encountered. Regina returned, carrying two glasses of red wine. She raised an eyebrow in amusement. “Comfy?”

“Holy shit,” Emma mumbled. “I could live on this couch.”

Regina sat down beside her, prompting Emma to sit up so she could properly accept the glass of wine.

“I hope you like red, it’s the only kind I have in stock right now.”

“Alcohol is alcohol to me,” Emma shrugged. “Wanna watch a movie?”

“What did you have in mind?”

“I’d suggest holiday themed, but I don’t even know what month it is.”

Regina chuckled, sipping her wine. “It’s…sometime at the end of November. I’ll admit the days are becoming lost to me as well. Especially after this week.”

Emma put her arm around Regina, pulling her towards her. She pressed a kiss to her temple as she scrolled through Regina’s Netflix account. “Damn. Too late for Turkey Day, too early for Christmas.”

Regina rested her head on Emma’s shoulder, looking deep in thought. Emma noticed how she went quiet, so she paused in her movie search. “Hey, what’s going on in that big ol’ brain of yours?”

Regina sighed, turning fully towards Emma. “I’m just worried about a lot of things. Now that the Henry situation has settled, I have to think about what we’re going to do. I want this more than anything Emma, I really do, but…we have to be so careful. The last thing I would ever want is for something bad to happen to you because of me.”

Emma brought both of Regina’s hands into her lap, tracing random patterns as she thought about what came next. “You don’t have to worry about this alone, Regina. I know that this is…not exactly ideal, but let’s think about the next year. You’ll only be my professor until the end of the semester, right?”

Regina pulled one hand back to take another gulp of wine. Emma didn’t hold it against her; she’d be drinking too if she had been dealing with an angry kid in his 'terrible two’s' stage all week. “I’m not sure at the moment. The neuroscience and behavioral sciences courses run from February until March of next year, and I have a feeling I’ll be asked to teach. Gold told me I would only have to teach anatomy, but I don't trust that little imp. Considering the abrupt cut to my research funding, that feeling will most likely prove correct.”

Emma nodded, giving her hand a squeeze. “Alright, so best case scenario, we stay under the radar until the end of the semester. Worse case scenario, we stay under the radar until I’m done with neuroscience.”

Regina gave her a look. “Worst case scenario, we get caught and you get kicked out of medical school.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Fine, Debbie Downer. Worst case, I get the boot. So let’s be careful.”

“You also won’t be able to be apart of my research studies if we decide to go public eventually.”

Emma shrugged. “That’s okay. I mean, you could still keep me updated and I could help out from the sidelines or something. I’m cool with not being included in all your publishings when the time comes, as long as I get to hear about it from you.”

Regina still had her brow furrowed in anxiety, giving Emma the sudden urge to kiss it away. She sat Regina’s wine glass down and pulled the brunette onto her lap. She placed a kiss right between her eyes, then met her lips for a slower kiss, hoping to convey that she was in this with her. Regina gave her a small smile in return, lacing her arms around Emma’s neck to play with the blonde curls.

“Emma, are you sure you don’t want to take things slow? We haven’t exactly known each other that long…”

Emma pressed a soft kiss under her ear. “I’d say we know each other pretty well by now, Regina. I’ve told you things about my life that I’ve never told anyone, and you’ve done the same in return. Besides, isn’t there a saying about timing being bullshit? I can’t remember it, but let's just pretend I said something equally profound.”

Regina sighed, letting Emma’s lips travel down her neck. “I don’t even know your middle name.”

Emma huffed, leaning back to meet her eyes. “My full name is Emma Elizabeth Swan. Happy now?”

“That’s a pretty name. It suits you.”

“Thanks, I picked it myself. Perks of being an orphan.”

Regina’s fingers trailed along Emma’s jaw. “Mine is Evelyn. That was my father’s mother’s name.”

Emma grabbed her hand, kissing her fingertips. The name was elegant, just like Regina.

“Regina,” Emma whispered, kissing her forehead. “Evelyn,” she kissed her nose. “Mills,” and finally her lips found Regina’s. “Is mine.”

Anything that had been holding Regina back quickly dissolved with Emma’s declaration.

Regina settled herself into Emma’s lap, catching her lips in a searing kiss. Emma’s hands immediately went underneath her shirt, making their way up her bare back. Her lips tasted like red wine, and Emma was lost in the small moans coming from Regina as her fingertips continued to dance across the brunette's back. Emma pressed a kiss to the side of her mouth, tracing her jawline with her lips as Regina threw her head back, giving Emma more access. Regina was squirming in her lap by the time Emma made it to her neck, where she stopped to gently suck at her pulse point. Still, she moved further down, mimicking her actions in the bathroom stall several nights ago. Her tongue traced Regina’s collarbone, and this time, Regina didn’t stop her when lifted her shirt. Regina helped her pull the shirt over her head, leaning back to let Emma take in the vision in front of her. She was so beautiful, all olive skin and black lace, messy hair and swollen lips.

“Bedroom,” Regina breathed.

Emma wasted no time, hoisting up the brunette and carrying her up the stairs. Regina’s hands tugged at her hair as she let her mouth explore Emma’s neck on the way.

“Second door on the left,” Regina whispered in her ear before dragging her tongue along it. She bit her earlobe, pulling a groan from the blonde. When they made it to the bedroom, Regina had already unbuttoned Emma’s shirt, leaving hot, open-mouthed kisses across her bare skin.

“Off,” Regina growled, trying to pull Emma’s shirt down her arms, even though the blonde was still carrying her.

Emma laid her down on the bed carefully, her eyes not missing how Regina’s chest heaved or how her legs automatically parted for Emma to slide between. She finished removing her own shirt, exposing her red bra and toned stomach. Regina licked her lips, pulling Emma down on top of her when she moved onto the bed. Regina’s hands traveled along Emma’s abs as they kissed. She tugged on Emma’s bottom lip with her teeth, pulling back to look Emma in the eyes as her hand rested on the button of Emma’s jeans. Emma nodded, letting Regina snap the button open and push her pants down her legs. Emma stood, quickly pulling the black denim off and kicking them off to the side. Regina bit her bottom lip at the vision of Emma in front of her, all toned limbs and blonde hair, in nothing but a matching set of red underwear.

Emma quickly crawled onto the bed, letting Regina’s eyes roam her body. The way Regina was looking at her dispelled any self-consciousness she would normally feel with someone for the first time. Emma let her mouth travel down Regina’s sternum, kissing between the valley of her breasts. She teased her nipples over the black lace cups of her bra, leaving Regina moaning and arching into her touch.

“Stop teasing,” Regina moaned. Emma raised her head to look Regina in the eyes as she unclasped the brunette’s bra, never breaking eye contact. She threw it to the side without a care as her mouth descended upon a dusky nipple. Regina gasped at the sensation, grinding her pelvis into Emma’s stomach. Emma’s hand palmed the breast that wasn’t occupied by her mouth, rolling a hard nipple between her thumb and index finger. Regina moaned again, her grip tightening on Emma’s hair once more to hold her in place against her chest. Emma switched breasts, giving the opposite one the same attention. When Regina was writhing uncontrollably beneath her, she finally descended lower, pressing open mouthed kisses to the underside of her breasts, her ribs, and her stomach, causing Regina to whimper with need. She hooked her thumbs into the waistline of Regina’s leggings before looking up to check in with the brunette, who nodded quickly. Emma chuckled, kissing just below her navel as she pulled the leggings down revealing more black lace. She kissed each of Regina’s hip bones before gently parting her legs, letting her fingertips trail up Regina’s calves. Her mouth traveled up her inner thigh before switching to the other, just bypassing Regina’s sex. She could hear Regina’s grunt of frustration, but she wasn’t done yet. Wanting to tease her just a little more, she licked her center through her underwear, making Regina’s hips buck.

“Emma, you’re driving me crazy,” Regina moaned.

Deciding she had sufficiently worked her up, she finally pulled the brunette’s panties down, tossing them to the floor. She licked her lips at the sight in front of her.

Regina, splayed out naked on her bed, her center glistening with arousal all for Emma. Emma brought her mouth down to lick from her opening to her clit. Emma moaned against her, savoring the taste of the gorgeous woman above her. Regina’s back arched, her hands weaving their way through blonde locks.

“Oh,” the brunette whispered, the sensation of Emma’s tongue on her overwhelming.

Emma lifted her head for just a moment to meet Regina’s eyes. “I love the way you taste,” she groaned, voice deepening with need. She buried her face between Regina’s thighs, ready to show her just how much she needed her. While her tongue continued to tease her clit, Emma placed a single finger against the older woman’s opening, not wanting to overstep. As much as she wanted Regina, she didn’t know what she was comfortable with, so she would wait until Regina instructed her. That was just their dynamic.

“Inside, please,” Regina cried, her hips desperately thrusting forward trying to take Emma’s finger. Emma pressed her index finger inside, humming against Regina’s clit at the feeling of her walls clenching around her. “More,” Regina encouraged, grip tightening on Emma’s hair.

Emma slide her middle finger inside, curling them against Regina’s inner walls as her tongue continued to flick against her clit.

“Fuck, Emma,” Regina whimpered. “Faster, god, I need you.”

Emma obliged. She thrust into Regina, building up a steady rhythm with both fingers and tongue. She could feel Regina tightening around her fingers, and she knew she was close. Emma doubled down her efforts, curling her fingers inside of her while wrapping her lips around the woman’s clit and sucking.

“Don’t stop, don’t stop, don’t stop,” Regina mumbled frantically, her hips meeting each of Emma’s thrusts.

She used her free hand to hold Regina’s hips still, afraid the woman was about to dislodge her from her position with the force of her movements. Making up for it, she thrust deep and sucked harder on her clit. Before she knew it, Regina’s legs were clamped around her head, her back arching from the bed, and her body clenching around Emma’s fingers. She knew Regina was trying to be quiet, but the woman couldn’t stop the whine that came out of her mouth as she reached her climax.

“Em-ma,” she cried, riding out her orgasm. Emma helped her through it, letting Regina writhe against her tongue as she came down from her high. “Emma, Emma, Emma…” she murmured, almost incoherent.

And even though Emma was trapped between Regina’s legs with a major oxygen deficit at the moment, she didn’t want to be anywhere else, not when Regina was saying her name like a prayer as she came. When the brunette’s legs finally relaxed, Emma slid out of her, feeling a little proud of just how hard she had made Regina come. She kissed her way back up Regina’s body, feeling the way her body heaved up and down with deep breaths.

Regina was still breathing hard, her eyes a little glazed. Emma grinned smugly at her expression, which seemed to snap Regina out of her trance. Recovering out of nowhere, Regina’s hand wound around the nape of Emma’s neck to pull her down into a hot kiss. She licked Emma’s bottom lip before taking it into her mouth and sucking, moaning at the taste of herself on Emma’s mouth.

Using the upper-body strength that Emma had once underestimated, Regina flipped them over, hovering above Emma’s face. She reached a hand down to cup Emma's center, fingers stroking through slick folds. Emma moaned, looking into Regina's eyes.

“My turn,” Regina said with a devilish smirk. Regina crawled her way down Emma’s body, too impatient to tease the blonde properly. Instead, she settled on burying herself between the blonde’s legs and remaining there until Emma was on the verge of passing out.

***

Coming down from their high, Emma reclined back onto the pillows, pulling Regina with her. They laid in each other’s arms for several minutes, catching their breath. Regina looked up at Emma, her chin against the blonde’s chest. Emma smoothed her disheveled dark locks from her face so she could clearly see the brown orbs that occupied her dreams.

“When is your birthday?” Regina asked quietly, a small smirk forming on her face.

“Seriously? That’s the first thing you’re going to say to me after you screwed me into unconsciousness?” Emma questioned.

Regina chuckled and it sent another wave of need over Emma. God, she just couldn’t get enough of that sound. “Just picking up where we left off, darling.”

Emma blushed at the new term of endearment. “October 22nd.”

“Mine is February 1st.”

Emma looked at her quizzically. “Huh, I never would have pegged you for an Aquarius. I thought you were definitely a Gemini. Or Sagittarius.”

“Emma, I don’t know what any of those words mean nor do I know their implications.”

Emma turned her body towards Regina so she could look at her straight on. “You don’t know your zodiac sign?”

“I know _of_ them.”

“Wow, did I just find something that I know more about than Regina Mills does? Should we look out the windows? I think pigs might be flying.”

“You are such an idiot,” Regina muttered, hiding her face in the pillow.

“You knew that before you seduced me,” Emma replied cheekily.

Regina lifted her head, eyes narrowed. “I did not _seduce_ you. Let’s not forget it was you who sought out the most difficult, temperamental, intimidating doctor you could find and then decide to develop feelings for her. You seduced _me._ ”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Oh right, and the whole ‘I’m going to wear a sleeveless dress and make my student drool in front of all her classmates’ was totally not a seduction technique. Can we just agree that no matter who did the seducing, it all worked out?”

Regina closed her eyes, sighing. “We don’t know if this will all work out. We still need to talk about _how_ we’re going to do this. We should have done that before jumping into bed.”

“Jumping into bed is one way to put what we just did…”

“Emma, can you be serious for a moment?” Regina implored. “There’s something I think you should know first.”

Emma’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “Okay?”

“I should have told you before we…” she gestured to their bodies lying under the sheets.

“Regina,” Emma cut her off. “Just tell me. I promise that no matter what it is, I won’t regret anything. I mean, unless you’re secretly married. That would put a damper on things.”

Regina’s eyes crinkled with amusement, but Emma could still feel the nervous energy bouncing off of her. “Not a secret marriage, no.”

“Then tell me,” Emma grabbed her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm.

Regina swallowed. “I’m afraid that you’ll hate me.”

“Regina…”

“I had a relationship with one of my patients.”

Emma propped herself up on her elbow and looked at Regina incredulously. Regina squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable rejection.

Instead, she heard, “Why in the world would that make me hate you?” Emma asked softly.

Regina opened her eyes, letting out a shaky laugh. “Because it’s illegal? It’s breaking the oath that I swore when I was given a title? How could you not hate me?”

Emma scoffed. “Regina, there’s no way that you’re the first doctor to date a patient. I mean, yeah, it’s not exactly ethical and I am surprised that you kept your job after that, but I’m sure there are plenty doctors out there doing it who just aren’t getting caught.”

“You don’t know the entire story,” Regina argued.

“Then keep going,” Emma replied. She scooted closer to Regina, resting her head against her shoulder. “Please?”

Although Regina remained silent for several minutes, she took a deep breath and began. “It was during my first year as an attending here. I had already developed a solid patient base and I was well-established. I petitioned the Board of Directors and the National Institute of Health for research grants, and they funded my project within two months. I was on track to be one of the top neurologists in the state. Then I met Mal. She became one of my long-term patients for fibromyalgia. Normally, a neurology consult isn’t required for fibromyalgia treatment, but she had wanted a second opinion from an expert in the field of chronic pain treatment. We tried several different therapies until we found one that worked for her, and I came to enjoy seeing her name on my schedule. She was the only person in years who had made me laugh out loud and she always wanted to know more about me. I’ve always been rather closed-off emotionally, even as a child, which was a byproduct of being raised by Cora Mills. Most people never tried to break down the walls I had built up even further after my father died, but Mal was different. She didn’t let my coldness deter her. By that time, a month or so had passed and I was already falling for her. As soon as her pain had been managed to the point where she didn’t need to schedule regular visits with me anymore, she asked me on a date. Of course, I said yes, because I had transferred her file and prescription records over to her primary care physician and he took over her fibromyalgia treatment. She wasn’t technically my patient anymore when we began dating, so I thought it would be okay. We were together for two years, and every day, I swear I fell more in love with her. It blinded me to everything she kept hidden.”

Regina took a deep breath, preparing herself for the rest of the story.

“Mal was addicted to opioids, or pain pills, as most people refer to them. I don’t know if I convinced myself that I didn’t see what was happening because I loved her so much, or if I was just too stupid and naïve to notice. Which is a ridiculous notion, considering I see the effects of drugs in my practice all the time. After almost two years together, I finally began to see the signs: becoming frantic when she was running low on her supply, constricted pupils and calmness when she had her fix, anger when I finally asked her what was going on. Still, I stayed with her, hoping we could work through this. She agreed to go to meetings and we started couple’s therapy so I could learn how to better support her. It worked, or at least I _thought_ it worked, for a while. That’s when we decided to look into adopting a child. The day we received our approval from the adoption agency, Mal lost it. She hadn’t had a hit in several days, since she accompanied me to my neurology conference. She told me that she couldn’t handle a child, even though it had been her suggestion in the first place. That night was the first time she took drugs in front of me. She swallowed three tablets and left, taking the bottle with her. It took me an entire hour of sobbing on the floor to realize that I needed to find Mal’s supply. I searched the house, but I couldn’t find a damn thing. The last place I checked was the extra bedroom that we were furnishing for our child when the adoption was finalized. Sure enough, there was a loose floorboard in the closet. Under it, I found three bottles of oxycodone prescribed to her, from three different pharmacies, all with my name on it. I ran to my home office, tearing the place upside down looking for my prescription pad. Physical prescriptions are outdated, but we always keep several pads on hand for home health equipment. I normally kept it hidden underneath several books in my desk drawers, but it was gone. Mal must’ve had it in her car or in her purse, and for god knows how long. I had no idea what to do. Despite the fact that my career was thriving, and I looked like I had it all together, I was still fresh out of residency and I didn't have the experience for this. I didn’t know if I should call the police, the hospital, a lawyer…all I could do was cry. I just crawled into bed and waited on Mal to come back. I wanted to talk to her first before doing anything rash. She still meant so much to me, I wasn’t going to give up on her. I thought we could get through it.”

Regina had tears streaming down her face, and Emma wrapped herself around the woman, offering her the only comfort she could give in this situation. In turn, Regina pulled Emma closer and traced random patterns on her arms.

“The hospital called me at five in the morning. Mal was in cardiac arrest from an overdose. I got there as fast as I could, but it wasn’t enough. They called the time of death as soon as I entered the room. I broke down, climbed into the hospital bed with her, and just sobbed. I just…I couldn’t believe it was happening. I was going to ask her to marry me. We were going to raise a child together. And I didn’t even know if any of it was real. I didn’t know if she had just been using me for the prescription pad the entire time, or if she truly did love me. Clearly, she was an excellent actress. It didn’t stop me from mourning her any less.”

“Oh, Regina, I’m so, so sorry. That…what you went through was a nightmare.”

“You want to know why I hate Mary-Margaret Blanchard so much? She was a second-year resident at the time, and she came into the room and tried to make me leave Mal. I told her to get the fuck away from me. She called security and had me physically removed from Mal's body. I hated her for that, but I hate her for telling the board that Mal was a previous patient of mine even more. They may have found out eventually, but she certainly sped up the process and wasted no time throwing me under the bus. They tried to fire me. They _wanted_ me out of there and my license revoked. They sent out notices to my patients that I would no longer be their physician and that their care would be transferred to someone else at the hospital. The majority of my patients called the board and said they would find another practice if I was no longer working there. Like I said, I had already built up a large patient base and my research was bringing more patients to the hospital. They weren’t willing to lose the revenue. My patients saved my career, Emma. I would be jobless if it wasn’t for them.

“But I am on strict probation. My hours used to be consistent; I’d spend mornings in my clinic and afternoons rounding on patients in the hospital. Mal was supposed to stay home and take care of Henry while I was at work. Now, I can’t hold clinic every weekday because of the classes I was forced to pick up, I have to push back my hospital rounds due to teaching anatomy lab, and I had to enroll my son in daycare. The fact that they’re rescinding my research funding is just another nail in the coffin.”

“Why don’t you apply somewhere else?” Emma questioned. She couldn't believe all that Regina had been through in the past couple years.

Regina sighed. “I’m under contract. I have another year left before I’m released.”

Emma contemplated that information. “What would happen if you broke the contract anyways?”

“They paid off my student loans in exchange for five years of service, so I would have to pay them about three-hundred thousand dollars. It would also look bad on my resume to any future employers. I have to wait it out.”

Emma laid a kiss against her hair. “I’m sorry, Gina.”

Regina nuzzled Emma’s neck. “I’m okay now, aside from the consequences of the relationship on my career. It took me a while to come to terms with what happened, but I had to be strong for Henry. I won’t forget her, but I had to move on. I didn't even know him yet, but I had to keep going for my son.”

Emma held Regina for a while longer, letting her know that she would always support her and reassured her that what happened wasn’t her fault. Regina knew that, but she couldn’t help the guilty feelings that still surfaced every once in a while.

“Was she the love of your life?” Emma asked.

Regina looked contemplative. “She was at the time. I loved her, whether it was real or not for her. It would be easier to hate her. I’ve tried. I can’t bring myself to regret it because for those two years, I was happier than I’d been since I was a little girl. I wouldn’t have adopted Henry if I hadn’t met her. I suppose she was one of the loves of my life.”

Emma’s brows furrowed. “One of them?”

Regina’s gave her an amused look. “You think you can only have one?”

“Well, it’s kind of in the saying…”

Regina sighed. “Life doesn’t always work that way. It’s not as short as people claim it is. How unfair would it be if you only had one chance at happiness, to never get it back just because it slips away the first or second time? I don’t believe in that. I believe that you meet people who change your life in the best ways possible, and sometimes even in the worst ways. I believe in being _happy.”_

Emma trailed her fingers up and down Regina’s arm as she laid next to her, looking into soft brown eyes. “And are you, now? Happy?”

Regina smiled and pulled Emma on top of her. “Very much so,” she whispered against her lips.

After they were both sated and exhausted, Emma fell asleep with her arms around Regina, her front pressed against the brunette’s back. She breathed in the scent of Regina’s shampoo, and she felt so, so happy.


	10. The Pudendal Nerve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said this would only have about 14 chapters? We're looking at more like 19 at the moment.   
> A little NSFW  
> Hope you enjoy! :)

Emma woke up to Regina’s alarm clock screaming at her. She felt her lean over to turn it off, and once the offending sound was gone, Emma proceeded to pull Regina back to her side. She buried her face in dark brown hair, wrapping her arms around Regina’s midsection. The brunette chuckled, remembering that Emma Swan was definitely not a morning person.

“Emma, we have to wake up. We have class, darling,” she whispered, her hands coming to rest on top of Emma’s.

Emma just grunted in return, tightening her hold. Regina huffed, trying to figure out how she was going to dislodge herself from the blonde koala wrapped around her, still half-asleep.

An idea came to her. “Pancakes,” Regina stated plainly.

Emma shot up immediately. “Where?”

Regina rolled her eyes. “I knew that would work.”

Emma’s hair was sticking up in several different directions and her eyes were barely open, but she was still focused on breakfast. “Wait, so there aren’t pancakes?”

“How could I have made you pancakes when you wouldn’t release me? Besides, that was actually the third time I hit snooze on the alarm. You have to get back to your apartment and get ready for class, and I have to get Henry ready for daycare.”

Emma frowned. “Are you kicking me out?”

Regina softened, not realizing how dismissive that sounded. She cupped the side of Emma's face with her palm, her thumb brushing over the blonde's cheek. “Not at all, sweetheart. I just don’t want you to be late.” She leaned over to kiss the blonde, who took that as a go-ahead to pull her back on top of her. Regina giggled, and Emma swore it was the cutest sound she ever heard from the so-called Evil Queen. Emma got away with a few more minutes of kissing before Regina finally made her get up.

Twenty minutes later, Emma was driving back to her apartment in pure bliss. She couldn’t believe her life at the moment. Regardless of all the complications they were bound to face, her and Regina were finally together, four months in the making.

Emma bounced into her apartment, smiling to herself while looking for something that could pass as well-balanced breakfast in the kitchen. She was halfway through her bagel when she heard feet padding down the hallway.

Zelena had her blanket wrapped around her, red curls still matted to the side of her face. “Oh, it’s just you. I thought there was an intruder,” she yawned.

Emma raised an eyebrow. “You’d greet an intruder with nothing but a lime green blanket with…” Emma squinted, “…monkeys on it?”

Zelena just shrugged. “I have a presentation today. Getting robbed would be a solid excuse to reschedule it.”

Emma chuckled, happily eating her bagel while making coffee. Zelena narrowed her eyes, noting how peppy Emma was this morning even though she knew the blonde despised waking up before ten. She slammed her hand on the kitchen island, making Emma jump.

“You got laid!” Zelena proclaimed.

Emma winced. “Jesus, Z! Let the whole apartment complex know, why don’t ya?”

“Well it’s about bloody time! You should be shouting it from the rooftops. I thought you’d never get another shag after that last woman.”

Emma grimaced, recalling that the ‘last woman’ was her ex Lily, who she _really_ shouldn’t have called that night after six tequila shots.

“Wait, it wasn’t her again, was it?” Zelena asked.

“No.”

“Then who was it?”

“No one you know.”

“I know a lot of people.”

“You don’t know her.”

Zelena poured herself a steaming cup of coffee, going through a mental list of all the people Emma could have slept with. She was stirring in some sugar when a smug grin broke out over her face. “Oh. My. God. You…you slept with Regina. You slept with _Doctor_ Regina! You absolute stud, Emma Swan!”

Emma’s good mood was slowly deteriorating. Zelena was like a dog with a bone. A very irritating, yappy dog with a bone that really needed to stay hidden.

Knowing there was no use in denying it, Emma relented. “Yeah, it was her. Look, Z, I know that you don’t talk to many people in the medical school, but can we please keep this between us? She’s my professor, and she’s already going through a lot with her job and…”

“My lips are sealed! Although I am a bit concerned about how this will play out. I’m happy for you, don’t get me wrong, but this could go very badly, very quickly.”

Emma sighed. “We’re both well aware of that, Z.”

Zelena softened, not wanting to discourage her friend after seeing how happy she was. “You know how much I hate getting all…sappy…but I don’t want you to get hurt. Just be careful, yeah?”

Emma smiled, knowing how rare it was that Zelena showed anyone affection. “Always. Thanks for looking out for me.”

“That’s what I’m here for. If you ever need to use the apartment for your dates, give me a heads up and I’ll make plans for myself.”

Emma shot forward and hugged Zelena, who awkwardly patted her back. “You’re the best,” Emma said, giving her one last squeeze.

She pulled away, noticing how Zelena was actively trying not to smile. The redhead was much sappier than she insisted. “Yes, well, I’d hate for the pornographic noises bound to be coming out of your room to keep me from my beauty rest.”

Emma winked, grabbed her bag, and headed out to class. She was already counting the minutes until she could see Regina again.

***

The lectures of the day went by uneventfully. They were finally nearing the end of anatomy and getting closer to the beginning of their infectious disease course. Emma was excited, and not only because she liked learning about all the little bugs that can take over humans, but because Regina would be done teaching for the last month of the semester and could finally get back to a semi-normal schedule.

Emma knocked on Regina’s office door before letting herself in. She looked on, amused at the sight of the doctor huddled over several forms lying on her desk, glasses slipping down her nose. She didn’t even seem to realize that Emma had walked into her office.

Emma cleared her throat, making Regina snap her head up.

“Oh, good, you’re finally here,” Regina stated, standing abruptly and shrugging on her white coat over her deep purple blouse.

“Uh, class just ended?” Emma replied, confused at the urgency.

“Set your bag down, Emma. We have somewhere to be,” Regina said, quickly slipping her glasses into her coat pocket and picking up a thick file from her desk.

“Are you kidnapping me?” Emma joked.

Regina just looked annoyed. “We’re going to ask the director of the hospital's board why my funding has been cut. I’m going to see how much threatening I can get away with before they fire me.”

Emma’s eyes went wide. “Uh...are you sure I’m supposed to be with you for this? And is that really a good idea?”

“It’s the only idea I have at the moment.” Regina stopped abruptly, turning to Emma. “After I confessed everything to you last night, I realized that no matter what happened in the past, I’m needed here. I’ve been letting them walk all over me because…I think I wanted to punish myself for what happened with Mal. And while I know I deserve some of the consequences, I do not deserve to have my life’s work disregarded as insignificant. I want answers.”

Emma placed both hands on Regina’s arms, grounding her. “And you definitely deserve answers. But just take a minute to breathe before you start threatening…who was it? The director of the entire hospital?”

Regina scoffed. “I’m not scared of him. I’m the one they call the Evil Queen.”

“Yeah, well I don’t think poison apples will help you in this case.”

“I prefer fire,” Regina muttered.

Emma snorted, causing Regina to smile as well. The brunette leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on Emma’s lips. She rested her forehead against the blonde’s, taking several deep breaths before nodding once.

“Alright, let’s go. And to answer your question, yes, you should be there since you’re my research assistant. It will show him that I’m not the only one he’s taking opportunities away from.”

Emma followed dutifully, but something they discussed last night popped into her head. “You said I couldn’t be your research student if we were in a relationship. I thought that you might be…I don’t know, looking for someone else to replace me?”

Regina paused, turning to face the blonde. “I don’t want to let you go as my assistant just yet. If I have to teach next semester as well, there’s no reason that you should have to quit since we will still be lying low. You can keep your job with me until I’m officially no longer a professor.”

Emma let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, that’s good to know. I really didn’t want to quit as soon as I started.”

Regina started walking again but gave Emma a wry smile. “Don’t worry, I can assure you that there is no one standing in line to be your replacement.”

“Is it bad that I’m really happy about that?”

“Not at all, dear.”

Regina took them around several hallways and stairwells before they ended up in an office suite that looked nicer than Emma’s apartment. Regina stopped at the reception desk and asked if someone named Mr. Blanchard was in his office. When the secretary nodded, Regina took off before the woman could even indicate if he was busy or not. Emma mouthed 'sorry' to the woman and had to almost jog to catch up.

“Wait, Mr. Blanchard? Is he related to Mary-Margaret?” Emma asked.

Regina sneered. “He’s that insufferable dimwit's father. That’s why the emergency department always has the best equipment.”

Before Emma could reply, Regina knocked once on the door before strutting in like it was her own office.

As soon as Regina stopped at the head of his desk, Leopold Blanchard, an older man with balding gray hair and circular, thin-wired glasses, sighed dramatically. 

Regina didn’t give him a chance to speak, much like the secretary she passed earlier. “Why did you cut the hospital’s funding for my clinical trials, Blanchard? I deserve an explanation, and ‘budget cuts’ will not suffice this time.”

“Nice to see you too, Dr. Mills,” Leopold muttered. “It wasn’t just your research that’s been put on hold, it’s happening to everyone. We simply don’t have the ability to maximally fund every research project at the moment. I promise you this is only temporary until we sort out the budget.”

“Then what’s the point of touting yourselves as an academic hospital? I can’t run clinical trials with less than one hundred people, and the cuts you’ve made put me right at the limit with no money to spare.”

“I think we’re being generous, considering you are no longer able to complete hospital rounds because of your poor life choices.”

“Hey…” Emma started, but Regina shushed her with a single look. She turned back to Leopold with a cold stare.

“My _poor life choices_ are not the reason I can’t make my hospital rounds. _That_ is because Dr. Gold insists on forcing me to lecture three days a week and run an entire anatomy lab. Which all of you know could be supervised by any anatomist in this building. Relieve me of my teaching duties, and I will gladly resume hospital rounds around my son’s schedule. Who, by the way, is _not_ a poor life choice and never will be.”

Leopold considered her for a moment. “I’ll talk to Gold, but I can’t guarantee anything immediate. I agree that you are needed more for in-patient care than you are with teaching, but we may still need you to do a few lectures in the neurology course in the spring. I know that you think it’s a punishment, but you’re a good teacher, Regina. Gold told me just the other day that the current first year class is scoring higher on exams than in the previous years.”

Regina began to protest, but he cut her off. “You aren’t going to get out of teaching all together. You are still on probation, after all.”

Regina gritted her teeth. “I am well aware of that.”

“If we need you to teach, you will teach. I will negotiate with Gold on the number of lectures we want you to give and I will try my best to divert money for your research as soon as the funds become available. I’d like to keep you as a consult for special hospital cases and second opinions, while our other neurologists still do basic hospital rounds. Does that sound acceptable to you?”

Regina nodded, realizing this was actually a decent compromise. “Yes, but I still need steady clinic hours. I need to be able to see patients in the morning and early afternoon so that I can be home with my son in the evening. I can block days off on my schedule for when I have to teach, but it absolutely cannot be every single day.”

Leopold thought for a moment, rolling his pen around. “That’s reasonable. I’ll talk to Gold about making a suitable schedule for next spring. Will that be all?”

Regina nodded curtly. “Thank you, Leopold.” She turned on her heel and strode out of the office just as quickly as she came in.

Emma awkwardly waved at the hospital director, who just looked at her like she was an idiot, and followed Regina out. She was quiet for the majority of the walk back to her office, but as soon as they were behind her closed office door, she grabbed Emma by the waist and grinned up at her.

“I _did it!_ ”

Emma laughed, kissing the beaming woman in front of her. “Yes, you did. You look so sexy when you’re being all powerful and insistent.”

Regina bit her lip. “Careful, Miss Swan. We don’t have time for any distractions today. I have patients to see, and you have studying to do.”

Emma pouted, earning her a light smack on the butt. “No slacking, darling. I’ll call you when I finish at the clinic,” Regina said. “If you’d like, you can study in here while I’m gone. If anyone knocks, just tell them you’re looking for potential participants for my next round of trials.”

“Sounds good, I’ll see you in a little bit?”

“Of course.”

Emma plopped down into Regina's office chair and prepared herself several hours of intense studying. As she was pulling up the PowerPoints from the day, she noticed that she could still smell Regina's perfume lingering in the air. The familiar scent relaxed her and somehow made it easier to sit in once spot and concentrate on her work. The fact that Regina's leather chair was also much more comfortable than any seat in the library also helped matters. _I_ _could definitely_ _get_ _used to this,_ Emma thought.

***

Emma couldn’t be more thankful that this was the last week of anatomy, mostly due to the fact that her girlfriend (she still couldn’t believe she got to call her that) was currently standing on the stage discussing the nerves of the pelvic and sexual organs. Emma was a semi-mature person. She didn’t laugh when people said things like _sixty-nine_ or _balls_ anymore. But she was also human. So, when Regina was telling them which nerve innervated the clitoris, it was only naturally that Emma’s mind flashed back to the previous night. After Regina saw her last patient of the day, she and Emma agreed to have dinner at her house again, after Henry was asleep. Regina was still nervous that Emma would be offended at the fact that she wasn't ready for her to meet Henry yet, but Emma understood where she was coming from. Meeting someone's kid was a huge step, and even though they've had a connection since day one, they'd technically only been officially together for one week. Once Emma had sufficiently reassured her that she wasn't upset, they ate one of the best meals Emma had ever consumed. Regina made a fancy version of grilled cheese and tomato soup, Emma’s favorite meal, with ingredients that Emma had never even heard of. Afterwards, they both sat on the couch and worked on their respective tasks from the day. Emma had finished looking over the lecture material earlier than she expected, so she thought it would be a good time to distract Regina as well.

Emma rolled down into the floor in front of where Regina was sitting on the couch and abruptly pulled her hips forward, making Regina gasp. The brunette tossed her computer aside as Emma tugged her pants down and dove into her center. Regina’s legs locked around Emma’s shoulders as she gasped and moaned, grinding against Emma’s mouth…

Emma snapped out of her daydream as Ruby elbowed her. Emma gave her a ‘what the hell?’ look, and Ruby whispered back that she was dozing off.

“Oh, thanks,” Emma whispered back.

Still, she couldn’t focus at all on what Regina was saying to the class, not when her brain kept putting images in her head of Regina crawling down her body once they finally made it to the bedroom, how she kept eye contact with her while she was eating her out. As Regina droned on about the pudendal nerve innervating the clitoris, Emma’s mind flashed back to how good it felt when Regina’s tongue flicked against her own…

“Miss Swan, is everything alright?” a cool voice asked from a distance.

Emma snapped out of it, realizing too late that her eyes had been closed again.

Graham was the one to elbow her this time. “Swan, get it together. We’re not in high school.”

Emma gave him a curious look, earning her an eyeroll. “You just moaned out lout,” he whispered.

She felt her face flush with embarrassment. Several students were trying their best not to laugh at her, but many were unsuccessful. She was also now on the receiving end of Regina’s evil-queen glare.

Emma cleared her throat. “Uh, yeah…I’m sorry. My, uh…stomach is just upset. Too much espresso this morning. We’ve all been there, right?”

Regina continued scowling at her. “Well, if you are quite finished…”

“I am.”

“…then I will continue.”

Graham had his face hidden behind his hand, trying to conceal his laughter. Class went by incredibly slowly after that catastrophe. As Emma was rushing to shove her items into her backpack, she felt a presence at her table. She looked up slowly, knowing she was going to be faced with one pissed off neurologist.

Regina stared at her with a blank expression. “Meet me in my office after lunch, Miss Swan. We have to finalize our petition to the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America for a grant increase to fund our research and you need to know how to work the system like this in the future. Don’t be late.” With that, she stalked off.

Graham chuckled beside her. “You are a brave, brave woman, Swan.”

“Shut up,” Emma groaned.

Emma made it to Regina’s office right on time for once. She tossed her bag to the ground and sat on top of Regina’s desk, making herself comfortable. Regina was still typing away on her desktop, glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, when Emma noticed a container of McDonald’s Pancakes sitting at the end of the desk.

Instantly brightening up at the prospect of a second lunch (because no one told her that you should never order the hospital sushi), she leaned halfway across Regina’s desk to reach them. Before she could get her hands on their fluffy goodness, her hand was slapped away.

“The hell, Regina? You can’t just put pancakes on your desk and expect me not to eat them.”

Regina glowered at her. “And _you_ cannot make those goddamn noises in my class when I’m talking about innervation of the genitalia. Honestly, Emma, if I would have known you’d have such a reaction to the pudendal nerve, I would have mentioned that last night. That was incredibly immature.”

Emma blushed. “It’s not like I did it on purpose! You were literally up there saying clitoris in that sexy ass voice of yours and all I could think about was the sounds you made last night when you sat on my…”

Regina surged forward, crashing her mouth against Emma’s as she stood from her chair and settled between Emma's legs. Emma recovered quickly, gripping Regina’s hips as they ground into her own. Emma's lips made their way down Regina's neck, kissing and sucking lightly over her pulse point.

“Emma,” Regina moaned, eyes fluttering as Emma’s hand drifted under her skirt, up the inside of her thigh. “We shouldn’t do this here…”

“You started it,” Emma kissed the sensitive spot right under Regina’s ear. When Regina shuddered, Emma felt a sudden burst of confidence. “Tell me you haven’t thought about doing just that. That you haven’t thought about laying back on that desk, with my head between your legs and my fingers deep inside of you. Tell me to stop, and I will,” Emma whispered.

Regina pulled on Emma’s hair, bringing them face to face. “Don’t you dare stop, Miss Swan.”

Emma quickly flipped their positions so that Regina was now sitting on the desk. She pushed Regina's skirt up, revealing lacy light purple panties with a wet stain in the center. Emma cupped her sex while her other hand gripped the back of Regina's neck, pulling her in for another kiss. 

"You're soaked," Emma whispered. "All that, just because I moaned in class?"

Regina growled, writhing against Emma's hand. Emma pushed her panties to the side, slipping two fingers through slick folds. Regina groaned, bucking against them as her legs wrapped around Emma's back.

"Quiet, Dr. Mills," Emma whispered, biting her earlobe. She pushed her fingers inside and started pumping at a steady pace. She pressed palm against Regina's clit, making the woman whimper. Emma dropped to her knees, never stopping the motion of her fingers, and began lapping at Regina's clit and curling her fingers against the spongy patch of her inner walls. She could feel the sharp point of Regina's heel digging into her back, and dammit if that didn't spur her on even more.

Regina stifled her moans as best as she could, releasing shaky breaths, until she came with a silent cry.

Afterwards, Emma crawled onto the desk to lay beside a panting Regina. “We still have a deadline to meet,” Regina stated, turning to look at the blonde.

“Jesus Christ, Regina.”

"Priorities, darling," Regina smirked.

"Speaking of priorities, have I earned those pancakes yet?"

Regina looked at her incredulously. "Seriously? You aren't even going to let me return the favor, you just want food?"

Emma shrugged. "I worked up an appetite, woman! And like you said, we have work to do. You can make it up to me later," Emma winked.

Regina chuckled and gave Emma a kiss before heading to the bathroom to take care of her mussed hair and smeared makeup, while Emma climbed off the desk and went straight for the food.

They both settled back into their positions at Regina’s desk, like they’d been doing this exact routine for years. It felt so comfortable that Emma almost forgot that this was only the third time they’d had sex. She busied herself with pouring syrup all over the pancakes, while Regina poked at her grilled chicken salad and navigated the association's website, telling Emma their plans.

“Alright, so we start by sending a letter detailing the extent of our research trials and what resources we will need for it, as well as what we can afford on our current budget. The main cost barrier is the price of the actual implants and the surgeries themselves. The MSAA has funded part of my research since I started, and I think if we detail the extent of the cuts the hospital has made, they are likely to cover some of our funds temporarily. We're also going to send a grant proposal to the National Institute of Health directly."

They worked side-by-side for a while, reading over and double-checking the proposals before they hit submit. Regina was impressed at the small details Emma was able to pick up on and the quality of her data analysis. She had improved tremendously since their first research meeting. After they submitted their requests, there was nothing to do but wait.

Once Emma re-organized their data, another thought stirred in her mind. “I’ve been thinking about something you said last night. You said your patients threatened to leave if you were fired, so isn’t the hospital afraid that you’ll go somewhere else once your contract is up, or even form your own practice? I’d think they would treat you better since you’re so important to them.”

Regina sighed. “They know that _I know_ I’m getting off easy. Most hospitals wouldn’t do this, Emma. I should have been fired. I’m grateful they kept me, and honestly even more grateful that Leopold agreed to meet my demands yesterday, though I would never admit that to anyone else.”

Emma chuckled, knowing Regina would rather lose a limb than admit her thanks to that man. “Have you thought about what you’re going to do when your contract is up?”

Regina sighed. “I’ve thought about it, but I haven’t come to a conclusion yet. I don’t want to leave my patients, and the only way I could keep my patient base is if I opened a private practice, and unfortunately that takes more resources than what I currently have available. I love my clinic here and how we operate, it’s something I don’t want to give up. I love doing hospital rounds, too, and I’d like to get back to that eventually. My probation should be over by the beginning of your second year. After that, I can hopefully focus on the patients and the research trials. As much as the administration is making my life difficult, they don’t want to lose me because if they lose me, they lose several hundred patients as well as an academic neurologic researcher. The only reason I put up with the ridiculous terms of the probation at first is because…I know it could have been much worse.”

Emma nodded. “I understand that. Don’t you feel like…that maybe you’re risking too much, being with me? If they find out, they aren’t going to give you a second chance. They could destroy your career…”

Regina shut her up with a kiss. “Like you said to me before, I know the risks involved here. You are worth it. Now let’s go see some patients.”

***

Their day started out with some routine neurology visits: more cases of neuropathy, several patients with multiple sclerosis, two of which Regina would enroll in her trial for spinal cord stimulation implants. The last patient of the day was new, an older man named Johnathan with trigeminal neuralgia.

Regina grabbed his chart and turned to Emma with a slight smirk on her face. “Alright, Miss Swan, what do you know about trigeminal neuralgia?”

Emma wracked her brain for all the information she could think of. “It’s a disorder of the fifth cranial nerve that affects sensation on the face. It’s described as an excruciating, electric-shock-like pain that can be brought on by any slight sensation on the face, like brushing your teeth or shaving. It usually only affects one side of the face but can be bilateral in severe cases. Um…” Emma continued to search her brain, knowing there was something she was missing. “Oh! It usually happens in cycles; they’ll have random attacks in periods of weeks to months and then have periods where they are symptom free.”

Regina nodded. “Impressive. And how do we treat this?”

Emma scratched her head. “Yeah, I’m not so good with the drug names. Aren’t anticonvulsants the first-line treatment, and then surgery if that doesn’t work?”

“Exactly. We typically use carbamazepine and baclofen, a muscle relaxer, together as the first therapeutic strategy. If this doesn’t work, we can switch to anticonvulsants with a higher potency, but there is always a risk of causing greater side effects with those drugs. If it can’t be managed medically, we refer him to a neurosurgeon. That was excellent, Emma.”

Emma couldn't help but blush a little. She felt like she was on top of the world every time Regina praised her. Regina knocked on the door of the exam room and they entered, introducing themselves to Johnathan. Emma talked with him for a bit to get a standard intake history, which didn't take long because he was completely healthy, other than the trigeminal neuralgia. Emma took note of the symptoms he described, confirming their diagnosis. Regina explained what this disorder would mean for him and what they could do to control it.

“Oh…so this isn’t something that you can just fix right now?” he asked, shifting slightly in his seat.

“I’m afraid not,” Regina replied sympathetically. “The medications will reduce the amount of attacks you experience and will give you longer symptom-free periods. The only way to definitively cure trigeminal neuralgia is surgery, which carries its own risks, so we try to manage patients with medication first.”

“Right,” he nodded. “It’s just that...I don’t have health insurance. I already paid up front for today’s visit and that already took a big chunk out of my paycheck. I thought maybe it was just a muscle twitch and you could, I dunno, stick a needle in there and cure it. There’s no way I can afford two prescriptions every day for the rest of my life.”

Emma watched as Regina nodded and thought about what to do next. “I’ll tell you what, I can give you some samples that we get from pharmaceutical representatives as well as what we have on hand here. It’ll be a ninety-day supply, and in the meantime, I’ll look into ways to get you your medicine at a low cost. Does that sound okay to you?” Regina asked.

Johnathan nodded. “I just don’t want to be in pain anymore.”

“I know, and I want to make sure you don’t have to be. We’ll figure this out, one way or another,” Regina reassured.

He gave her a teary eyed thank you as she left to find the sample medications. Emma sat down next to him, wanting to further put his mind at ease.

“I know you feel like you’re at the end of your rope right now, but I can promise you that when Dr. Mills says she’s going to do something, you can count on her. She won’t let you go without your medication.”

He nodded again. “I know I just met her, but I believe in her. Not just any doctor would do this for me.”

Emma smiled at him. “I believe in her, too.”

After Johnathan left with both medications to get him through the next three months, Regina retreated to her office and started typing away on her computer. She was looking into several programs that the hospital offered to help patients pay their bills, but with his current income, they wouldn’t reduce the overall cost. They would just put the patient on a payment plan. Regina sighed, frustrated with the system.

Emma rested her face on her palms, looking down at the desk. “I hate the bureaucracy of healthcare. Everyone should be able to get the medications they need, regardless of if they can pay.”

“I agree with you, Emma, but unfortunately that’s the state of healthcare right now. I’ll figure out a plan for him the next time he comes for his follow up. I have an idea but…we would need the board’s approval and I would need help.”

Emma brightened. “What do you need from me?”

“I want to set up a system where we can recycle prescriptions. For example, if someone is prescribed a medication and they end up not needing it, have a bad reaction to it, or just don’t want to take it for whatever reason, they can bring it back to the hospital instead of throwing it away. A ridiculous amount of medication gets flushed down the toilet or pushed to the back of a cabinet and forgotten about. Then, instead of letting the pharmacy restock the returns, we could organize the medications based on how often they're prescribed in each clinic and have an extra supply for people who can’t afford it. I’m just not sure if the hospital would go for it, because they save money when people return drugs directly to them. However, I think that if we present it as a student led project, we would have more success in getting their approval.”

“Regina, that’s amazing! I’d love to be a part of that. We could help so many people in every specialty. I could probably get our old lab group to help out, too. If anything, I’ll sell it to them as a good resume booster.”

Regina bit her lip. “You’re sure about this? It might take up a lot of your time and I don’t want to overwhelm you. You’re already doing a lot for me right now…”

Emma stopped her before she could continue. “Regina, I want to do this. I want to help people who are getting screwed by the system. Plus, I wouldn’t be alone. I can get my friends to help out and we can divide up the work.”

Regina beamed at Emma. “Thank you, Emma. I’ve wanted to do this for a while now, but as you know, I don’t exactly get much participation in my projects because of my rather…unwelcoming vibes.”

Emma gave her a lopsided grin. “That’s what I’m here for. Emma Swan, Master of Public Relations and Making Regina Friendlier, at your service.”

“Idiot,” Regina muttered, even though her lips were turning up at the corners. This was going to be one long project, but she had faith in Emma.

And Emma’s heart warmed because she knew it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't going to include smut in this chapter, but you can't have a student-teacher fic without at least a little bit of office sex


	11. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while :( I'm sorry for the lack of updates the past couple months. Lately, I've been struggling to find my motivation for school, and in turn motivation for this story. However, I took a long break to get my mind off of medical school and have started writing again. I plan to update at least weekly from now on, assuming life doesn't get in the way :)   
> Sorry for any grammatical errors, I don't have as much time to proof read this semester but I'll do my best!

Emma and her group gathered in the conference room that Regina booked for them to go over their medication recycling program and figure out how they were going to implement it. Their first task was to put together a presentation for the dean, and then the board of the hospital. _So, no pressure_. Emma brought her friends coffee shortly before Regina stopped by to drop off documents regarding the current medication disbursement policy at the clinic, along with a Tupperware container. She gave them a tight-lipped smile, betraying nothing of her true excitement about their project. Emma knew they had to keep up appearances, but she really wished that she could at least squeeze her hand or something before starting their work.

The negative thoughts were quickly remedied when Emma opened the Tupperware to find five flawless apple turnovers, somehow still warm. The scent of apple and cinnamon was making Emma’s mouth water. She reached for one, about to bite into it when she noticed her friends’ reactions. Graham, Ruby, Elsa, and August just stared at the Tupperware full of pastries in front of them, occasionally trading wary glances with each other.

_Oh,_ Emma realized. _Well, this was a little too on-brand._

“Right,” Emma muttered. “I’ll be right back. I need to ask Dr. Mills about something.”

Emma caught up with Regina, who was setting up her computer at a separate table. Pausing for a moment to take in the always-welcome sight of Regina in her glasses, Emma couldn’t help but wonder how she got so lucky. Shaking herself from her reverie, she bit back a smile.

“Hey, Gina? You realize you gave a bunch of students who have a not-so-flattering nickname for you…apple turnovers?”

Regina looked at her quizzically. “Yes? What seems to be the problem?”

“ _Apple_ turnovers.”

“Yes, Emma, I am quite aware of what fruit I-, Oh…” Understanding washed over Regina’ face. “Right.”

Emma raised her eyebrows.

Regina cleared her throat. “I can see how that would be disconcerting given my…reputation.”

Emma chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ll eat one first to show them they aren’t poisonous.”

Regina smirked. “Just because one of them is not poisoned doesn’t mean they all aren’t. I’d imagine my day would be much more pleasant if Mr. Booth happened to fall under a sleeping curse.”

Emma shook her head, failing to hold back a smile. “Go with…blueberry next time.”

Regina scrunched up her nose, making Emma giggle as she returned to the table and stuffed her face with a delicious (and totally not poisoned) apple turnover.

Graham shook his head, watching Emma dig into the dessert with no hesitation. He reached for his own, sporting a boyish grin after a moment. “Well, if Emma says they’re safe, I guess I’ll trust her. I doubt Dr. Mills would want to risk Emma being poisoned,” he whispered conspiratorially.

Emma almost spit her food out. Almost. “What makes you say that?”

Ruby snorted. “You’re her first research assistant since she’s worked here. No one else is lining up for the job. It probably wouldn’t be a smart move to kill off the help.”

“Ha, ha,” Emma deadpanned. “Alright, we should get to work since we only have this room for an hour.”

“If you all need more time, I will arrange for the next person to come in later,” Regina chimed in.

“Are you friends with the scheduler or something?” Emma questioned, looking back over her shoulder.

“Not quite, dear. I imagine I could scare off whoever has the room booked after you fairly quickly, though.”

“Fair enough,” August agreed, earning an elbow from Elsa.

Regina smirked to herself, letting her students get back to work.

Emma had already developed an outline for their pitch to the dean. First, they would set up a medication drop box at the hospital pharmacy. The medication returns would be collected by medical students and organized by type and purpose. They would allow the clinics to determine what drugs were most needed in each location, and the extra supplies could be stocked in a section of the pharmacy. If any patient did not have insurance or couldn’t afford their copays, the clinics could provide them with whatever they had in stock until they could attempt to get the patient enrolled in an assistance program.

Ruby tapped a red nail against the notepad. “This is really great, Em. How should we recruit volunteers? I was thinking we could have two students per day to be more efficient. We would definitely need more students than just us.”

Graham nodded. “We could post flyers in the student lounge and send out an email to our class. Everyone will hear about it somehow, and we can brief the volunteers on their duties before their shifts.”

“I can create a sign-up sheet to attach to the email,” Elsa added. “We’ll be able to get the volunteers’ numbers in case someone doesn’t show.”

“What time would we be volunteering? It’ll have to be within hospital operating hours,” August pointed out.

Emma thought for a minute. “I was thinking the end of the day…so we wouldn’t be leaving a ton of dropped off medications in the box overnight.”

Elsa nodded in agreement. “That would work out perfectly. My main concern is deciding which clinics receive which drugs. We know there are things specific to each specialty, but I feel like we’ll have some argument over who gets what, and why.”

Emma had been thinking of that as well. “I think that’ll be something we should ask Dr. Mills about. She’ll have a better idea of how we should allocate everything.”

“So, how are we going to present this as worthwhile to the hospital? They wouldn’t be losing money, but they also wouldn’t be making money. Not to mention, risks of students or staff stealing the medicines that are recycled, or them being tampered with,” Graham sighed.

Emma drummed her fingers against the table. “What if…what if we collaborated with the college of pharmacy? We could reach out to them and ask if their students would be willing to volunteer with testing the drugs and making sure we organize them properly? Then we wouldn’t have to bother the pharmacists as often.”

Elsa squeezed her arm. “That is so smart! If we get support from a professor in the pharmacy school, we could really make this work.”

Emma smiled, feeling proud of herself. She snuck a glance over to Regina, who seemed to be in an intense staring contest with the wall. Noticing Emma’s eyes on her, Regina snapped to attention, shooting Emma a small smile.

They each agreed to write up a section of the proposal and finish it by the weekend. Emma would then send it to Regina to review, and if it was any good, she’d request a meeting with the Dean. Just as they were packing up their things, Elsa reached for Emma’s hand. “Hey, Em. Do you have plans this weekend?”

Emma shrugged. “Not really, no. Just studying and wishing that I wasn’t studying.”

Elsa giggled. “Well…look, I’m just going to put it out there. I think you’re beautiful and smart…and hilarious. I’d really like to take you on a date this weekend.”

Emma’s mouth opened and closed comically, making her look like a fish out of water. “Oh, I…well, the thing is…um, I’m not really dating right now. I’m just trying to focus on school.”

Elsa nodded. “I understand that, but we have to make some time for ourselves, don’t we? They don’t expect us to put our entire lives on hold, you know.”

“Yeah, no, totally…” Emma stammered, as Elsa’s thumb began brushing smooth strokes against her arm. _Oh, this was not good,_ she thought. “But like I said, I’m just not really in a place to date someone right now. I like being your friend, and I hope it can stay that way?” Emma asked nervously. She really didn’t want to ruin the few friendships she’d managed to make.

Elsa sighed, removing her hand. “Yeah, of course. Just…let me know if that ever changes, okay?”

Emma nodded, clearly flustered. As soon as Elsa left, she looked towards Regina, who seemingly didn’t even hear their conversation. She breathed a sigh of relief as she dropped down into the seat across from the professor.

“Sup?” Emma asked, knowing it would annoy her.

“Oh, nothing really. Writing test questions. Actively trying not to throttle a student. Drinking coffee…” Regina replied casually, but Emma noticed the tension in her jaw.

Emma could feel the heat rising to her cheeks. “Oh, uh…you heard all that?”

“Yes.”

“Right.”

“She likes you, then?” Regina asked, meeting bright green eyes across the table for a fleeting moment.

Emma shrugged. “I guess so, but I’m obviously not interested.”

Regina’s eyes were cast down. “It would be easier with her, you know?”

Emma’s brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

Regina sighed, defeated. “You wouldn’t have to hide. You could be together whenever you wanted. You could go on public dates. You wouldn’t have to deal with…with all the baggage that comes with me.”

“Regina…” 

“You could be free…”

“Regina…”

“You would be so much hap-“

“Regina!” Emma shouted, snapping Regina out of her pity party. “If you’d just shut up for a minute, I’m trying to tell you that I don’t want anyone else, no matter how much easier you think it would be. I only want you, you dumbass!”

Regina was silent, staring at Emma like she had grown a second head. “Did you just…call me a dumbass while declaring your feelings for me?”

Emma huffed. “Well, you weren’t listening! Jesus, even thinking about dating someone else makes my stomach hurt.”

Regina finally cracked a smile. “Well, the feeling is quite mutual. I just don’t want to hold you back.”

Emma rounded the table, bending down to rest her hands atop Regina’s knees. Regina, in turn, laid her forehead against Emma’s. “You will never hold me back. I wouldn’t even want to move forward without you.”

Regina sighed. “How is it that you always know exactly what to say to make me feel better?”

Emma grinned before giving the brunette a peck on the lips. “It’s my superpower.”

Regina’s eyes darted to the blinds obscuring the windows in the conference room, ensuring that they wouldn’t be seen. She pulled Emma in for a languid kiss that left them both breathless by the end. Emma’s body had somehow moved further between Regina’s legs, her hands resting on her hips. Regina’s hands tangled in her blonde mane, holding her close to her as if she was afraid she’d slip away if she loosened her grip.

“Emma, I’d like to ask you something,” Regina began when she finally pulled back.

“Alright, shoot.”

Regina fidgeted in her chair. “Henry will be turning three this weekend, and I wanted to organize a party for him with some of the children from his daycare at my house. I was wondering if you, well…if you aren’t busy…if you would possibly like to help me with it? Of course you don’t have to, I won’t be offended if it’s too soon for you to meet him, I-“

Emma all but jumped into Regina’s lap and kissed her until they were both gasping for air.

“I would love that, Regina. Whatever you need me to do, just name it. I can’t wait.”

Emma swore that Regina’s answering smile lit up the entire room.

***

Maybe Emma shouldn’t have said ‘whatever you need me to do’, because wrapping presents to the meticulous doctor’s liking was a task not taken lightly. And god, had this woman went overboard on presents. Emma wasn’t sure how a single three-year-old would even manage to play with every toy she had bought him within the next couple of years. He would surely outgrow them before that.

Regina finally came into the study, chuckling at Emma as she bent over a square box, tongue sticking out as she carefully taped the edges down. Regina handed her a glass of apple cider, which she gladly accepted. Even though Regina complained about the cider being from a local orchard and not her own family’s tree back in Storybrooke, Emma thought it was still pretty damn good. Satisfied at last with the present, she breathed out a heavy sigh of relief and cuddled up to Regina on the couch.

“Well, one thing is for sure…that kid will never be bored. Ever,” Emma stated.

Regina smirked over her glass. “Don’t worry, darling. I’m sure he’ll share with you.”

“You think you’re so funny.”

“Oh, I know so,” Regina joked, but then turned serious. “How are you feeling about tomorrow?” she asked, busying herself with the rim of her cider glass.

Emma carefully pried one hand from the glass and gave her a comforting squeeze. “I’m nervous, for sure, but mostly excited. Kids usually love me…”

“Not surprising, since you’re one of them.”

“- _but_ he’s also the most important kid I’ll ever meet. What if he doesn’t like me?” Emma frowned.

“He will adore you, Emma. I’m sure of it. Besides, he’s not the one you should be wary of,” Regina grumbled.

Emma could see how tense Regina was just from the thought of her mother coming to visit. She knew she wouldn’t be able to relax her with words, so she went with something even better.

“Sit on the floor,” Emma instructed.

Regina arched an eyebrow. “Miss Swan, I am a bit more refined than that.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Just do it! Please?” Emma asked with her best puppy-dog eyes.

Regina sighed. “I hope you have a good explanation for this,” she replied, gracefully easing herself onto the ground. Emma scooted over on the couch so that she was behind Regina, rubbed her hands together to warm them up, and started massaging her shoulders.

Regina immediately moaned, making Emma’s cheeks flush. Emma shook herself and focused on the massage. There’d be time for _that_ kind of relaxation afterwards. As her hands worked the brunette’s stiff muscles, she could feel the knots of tension in her shoulders slowly fall away as Regina leaned farther into her.

Emma was a bit concerned at how stressed Regina became in just one day due to her mother’s impending visit. Not just for Regina, but for herself as well. She mentally shrugged. _How bad could it possibly be?_

***

Emma was sweating. She had left Regina’s early that morning to change her clothes and get ready for Henry’s party that afternoon. She couldn’t believe she was finally going to meet her kid. Of course, she had risked seeing him prematurely every time she snuck over to Regina’s, but they had gotten lucky. However, there’d be no more sneaking and late-night dinners after this. Today was the day.

She stood on the front steps of Regina’s house, accidentally knocking a bit too hard on the door. She just couldn’t calm her nerves.

Regina opened the door and immediately beamed. Emma could tell she was excited to be able to share this day with someone important, and not just the parents from Henry’s daycare that she barely knew. “Emma,” she said, before giving her a long kiss in the doorway. She took Emma’s hands in hers, laughing when she realized how clammy they were. “Sweetheart, please try to relax, at least for now. You have plenty of time to be nervous when my mother arrives.”

“Right, right. I can be cool. Totally. I got this,” Emma sputtered.

Regina gave her a look that said she was not impressed with her motivational talk. She led her by hand into the living room where Henry was doing his toddler version of drawing. Emma immediately broke out into a smile. The kid was absolutely adorable. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt with dinosaurs printed on it. His mop of brown hair fell over his face, and she could already picture Regina sitting in front of Henry with a comb, trying to get the locks to stay in place as he squirmed about.

Henry looked up as he heard them walk in. “Mommy!” he exclaimed, hazel eyes shining.

Regina gave him a kiss on the cheek and sat down on the floor next to him. “Hi, honey. Your drawing is so beautiful!” she beamed. Henry handed the paper to her.

“It’s you,” he said, looking up at her with hopeful eyes.

Regina pretended to analyze the scribbles. “Oh my, that looks exactly like me! You are such a good artist, Mr. Mills.”

Henry giggled, then grabbed another piece of paper to begin another masterpiece.

Regina looked at him fondly. “Henry, there’s someone here to meet you.”

Henry looked up, smiling at his mom. “Gramma?” he asked, excitedly.

Emma was confused, since Regina had last said that Henry wasn’t too comfortable with the older Mills woman yet. She could see Regina trying her best not to grimace at her son’s enthusiasm towards her mother. Her smile just looked pained. “Not yet, honey. She’ll be here later. But there’s someone else who wants to say hi to you.”

Regina motioned for Emma to come sit in front of him. She sat down carefully, making sure not to spook the kid.

“Hey, kiddo. My name is Emma. I’m your mom’s friend.”

He looked at her curiously, tilting his head in a way that reminded her so much of Regina that she almost forgot they weren’t genetically related.

“Okay,” he said, before going back to his work. “Wanna draw?” he asked, moving some crayons in her direction.

“Totally! What are you drawing?” Emma laid on her stomach so she could draw on the paper he slipped to her.

“Birds,” he said seriously, gesturing to the multi-colored lines as if it was obvious.

“Gotcha. What color bird should I draw?”

He lifted his head, seeming to think very hard about this. “Yellow!” he exclaimed.

“Perfect! Yellow is my favorite color. What’s yours?”

They carried on back and forth for a while, becoming comfortable with each other more quickly than Regina had ever seen. She stood up, taking in the scene before her with a huge smile on her face. Emma grinned up at her. They were going to get along just fine. As Regina was hanging up Henry’s drawing on the refrigerator, she heard the doorbell ring. She quickly shuffled to the door, knowing the woman on the other side wouldn’t want to be kept waiting.

Before Regina could even say hello, she heard small footsteps running through the house.

“Gramma!” Henry screeched, bolting for the older woman, completely ignoring Regina’s ‘no running’ command.

Emma side-eyed Regina. “I thought you said he wasn’t a big fan of her yet?”

Regina glared. “Yes, well, it seems your suggestion that they would bond after one entire day proved to be true.”

Emma coughed into her hand to hide her amusement at Regina’s irritation. Once Henry had gotten his hugs in, he darted back to Regina’s side. She automatically lifted him so he could lean his head on her shoulder. Emma’s heart melted at the sight. _Some evil queen, huh?_ She wished everyone could see this side of Regina, but then again, it felt…special to be one of the few to really know her.

Emma snapped out of her musings when she heard a cool voice greet Regina. She looked up to find a woman with dark hair, pursed red lips, a disapproving glare, wearing what Emma suspected was a designer black pantsuit. _Oh boy._

“Hello, Mother. How was the drive down?” Regina greeted her with a quick hug.

“Same as always, dear. Dreadfully boring through Maine and then constant traffic through Boston. Honestly, Regina, you could have picked a less busy city to settle in.”

“Yes, well, my apologies for not accommodating my career to your travel preferences,” Regina replied dryly, then smiled when she looked over at Emma. “There is someone I’d like you to meet. This is my girlfriend, Emma.”

Emma stuck out her hand, ignoring the fact that the older brunette regarded her as if she had just come out of a public restroom without washing her hands. 

“Pleasure,” Cora stated dryly.

“Uh, yeah. Same?” Emma replied awkwardly.

Holding in a snort, Regina whispered into Emma’s ear. “Can you meet the delivery driver outside, darling?”

Emma was more than happy to oblige. Especially since said delivery driver was bringing pizza and chicken nuggets. She quickly scooped Henry up to get his stamp of approval on the menu for the party. He gladly jumped into her arms from Regina’s, excited by Emma’s own happy demeanor. Regina watched with a grin as they walked towards the car that just pulled in. 

“So, what is wrong with this one?” Cora inquired once Emma had disappeared.

Regina’s smile dropped as she clenched her jaw. “There is nothing wrong with her.”

Cora scoffed. “Dear, there is always _something_ wrong with the people you entangle yourself with. Daniel was a serial cheater, Mal was an addict, and now? I am just waiting on the ball to drop with this one.”

“Leave her alone, Mother,” Regina gritted out. “She makes me happy, and Henry adores her already. Isn’t that enough for you?”

“I won’t be bothering her, if that’s what you’re insinuating. I’m simply waiting for you to tell me why I will be disappointed in your choices, yet again. I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough, anyways.” The older woman started to turn away, then stopped abruptly. “And dear, would it kill you to dress nicer for your son’s birthday party?” Cora gestured at Regina’s jeans and sweater. “You have other parents to impress.”

With that, Cora took Henry’s present to the table and busied herself with making a drink. Emma glanced up at Regina after directing the delivery guy to the kitchen, noticing the anxious look on her face.

“Hey,” Emma whispered to Regina as she came to stand beside her. “You alright?”

Regina smiled, giving Henry a kiss on the forehead, making him laugh. “I’m fine, just a bit…stressed.”

Emma grinned. “Don’t be, I’ve totally got this. Henry and I are going to taste test some chicken nuggets…you know, just to make sure they’re suitable for the guests. Isn’t that right kid?”

Henry beamed at her. “Nuggies!”

Regina tsked. “Miss Swan, please do not spoil my child’s appetite. _Or_ eat all the children’s food.”

Emma pressed her hand to her chest in mock-astonishment. “Me? I would never!”

Regina actually giggled, and it was too cute for Emma not to lean in and kiss her. Of course, Henry had to join in as well, not wanting to be left out. He planted a sloppy kiss on Regina’s cheek at the same time, making her laugh even harder. Emma could tell that at that moment, all thoughts of Cora slipped from her mind.

As Emma and Henry dutifully inspected the food (to Emma’s outrage, most of the nuggets were grilled rather than fried), Regina greeted the parents that started to file in. Henry had made several friends at his daycare recently, and Regina had even talked to some of the parents about which preschool they’d be enrolling their children in next year. The parents sat on the couch chatting while their kids played on the floor. Emma could tell Regina was actually enjoying herself, so she insisted that Regina stay with Henry while she fixed the kids’ plates. Of course, Regina couldn’t help but check on her every once in a while, making sure Emma put an adequate amount of fruit and vegetables on their plates, and that their pizza was cut up into acceptable bite-sized pieces. The entire time, Emma could feel Cora’s cold eyes on her. She didn’t let it get to her. It was Henry’s day and there would be plenty of time for the nerves to settle back in later.

Everything was going smoothly. Until it was time for the cake. They rounded the kids up and brought them into the kitchen to sing and watch Henry blow out his candles out. Regina had stuck a cute little party hat on him (and Emma, in solidarity) that he wasn’t too fond of, but she promised him that he could take it off after they sang to him. Emma grabbed the cake out of the refrigerator and was making her way to the dining room when her foot snagged on something. She felt her balance shift and then she was falling sideways.

“Oh, shit!” she yelled.

In the blink of an eye, Regina was by her side steadying her. She could feel her heart pounding at the close call. Regina blew out a breath of relief, thankful that only… _one_ of Emma’s hands had ended up in the cake.

Henry giggled from the table. “Oh, shit!” he repeated.

Emma almost dropped the cake again.

“Oh, shit,” she said quieter this time, looking at Regina.

Her lips were pressed in a hard line. “Miss Swan, I must ask you to refrain from teaching my son to talk like a sailor.”

“Sorry! It could’ve been worse, you know.”

Regina rolled her eyes. “I’m quite aware of your colorful vocabulary.”

They had forgotten about all the other parents, who broke out into laughter.

Obviously, this spurred Henry on even more. “Oh, shit!” he said again as Emma finally set the cake down. Another girl, Grace, then repeated after Henry and Emma was mortified.

Regina sighed. “Honey, don’t say that, okay? Emma says bad words sometimes, but that doesn’t mean that you should. Emma, tell Henry and everyone else that you shouldn’t have said that.”

Emma rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. “Uh, yeah, kid. Don’t say that word. It’s not nice…sometimes.”

That earned her an elbow to the side and some more laughter from the other parents.

Henry just laughed, oblivious to her embarrassment. “Cake?” he asked, and Emma was grateful for the distraction.

As Emma was lighting his candles, she overheard one of the moms, Ashley, telling Regina how cute her and her wife were. Emma’s eyes widened. _Okay, then._

“Oh,” Regina said quietly. “We aren’t married yet. But thank you,” she said sincerely.

Emma smiled, then froze. _Wait, did she just say…yet?_

Regina’s eyes seemed to widen as she met Emma’s across the table. Emma smiled at her reassuringly. She likely just misspoke, but even if she didn’t…Emma was surprisingly okay with that.

“Alright, let’s sing!” Emma announced. Regina quickly snapped out of her shock and kneeled beside Henry. She looked up at Emma and waved her down to his other side. For the first time, Emma felt a sense of belonging, of family. She wouldn’t trade it for the world.

***

Once everyone had their fill of cake, it was time to open presents. Regina had decided not to let Henry open _all_ of them while the other parents were there, opting to do half now and half later. Emma snorted when she told her the plan. At least she knew she was spoiling the kid. Regina sat on the floor with Henry while he opened his gifts. Cora was in charge of taking photos with Regina’s fancy camera. Henry had apparently deemed Emma the garbage woman, because every time he ripped the wrapping paper from something, he handed it to her. She acted as if it was the highest honor ever bestowed upon her.

She was also extremely honored that his favorite gift, a remote-control Tyrannosaurus rex, came from her. Regina, on the other hand, wasn’t exactly thrilled about the roaring feature that came with it. But anything that made Henry happy, made her happy, so in the end she held Emma a little tighter while they watched him.

After the kids and their parents had gone and Henry was down for a nap after his exciting day, the three women decided to have a drink in Regina’s study. Cora poured herself a scotch, while Regina stuck to wine and Emma a beer.

“So, Miss Swan, what is it that you do?” Cora asked, fixing Emma with a hard stare.

“I’m a science teacher.” This was their rehearsed story. It was simple, Regina had said, especially since she studied science in undergrad. Fool-proof. The only thing that wouldn’t prompt too many questions.

“Where do you work?” Cora questioned.

Emma paused. “…A school.”

“Oh my god,” Regina grumbled, throwing back the rest of her wine before quickly reaching for a refill.

Cora kept staring at Emma, unblinking.

“Okay, fine, I lied! I’m not a science teacher.”

“Really? You were so convincing,” Cora replied sarcastically.

“Mother…” Regina warned.

“Don’t ‘mother’ me for wanting a simple answer as to what Miss Swan does for a living.”

“She’s a student,” Regina stated.

“Well that’s a bit predatory, Regina.”

Regina glared at her. “She’s almost thirty.”

Cora turned back to Emma. “So you have some type of intellectual disability, then?”

“Enough,” Regina said firmly. “She’s a medical student. Now leave her alone.”

Cora fixed her daughter with an icy glare. “Regina Evelyn Mills. Tell me, _for the love of god_ , tell me that she is a student at _any_ university other than the one you teach at.”

Regina remained silent, jaw clenched.

Cora suddenly let out a humorless laugh. “It never ends with you, does it? It’s like you have absolutely no regard for your career or reputation. It’s a good thing I didn’t invest in your education, given how you are throwing it all away.”

“I’m not throwing anything away,” Regina retorted.

“Your horrible decisions indicate otherwise.”

“Okay, lets cool it with the insults,” Emma tried to diffuse.

“I most certainly will not _cool it,_ Miss Swan. I suppose my daughter has told you about her tremulous past? Are you sure that you want to be involved with someone who so clearly cannot look out for her own well-being?”

Emma couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Cora was _trying_ to get her to leave Regina.

“First of all, lady, Regina is an amazing woman and you are lucky to have her as your daughter. She’s smart, successful, a great mom, and the most gorgeous person I’ve ever seen. Everyone makes mistakes. You’re supposed to help the people you love through them, not belittle them for it.”

Cora scoffed. “I have coddled her for far too long.”

Regina eyes were on fire. “Coddled me? Is that what you think you’re doing when you refuse my requests to baby sit? When you wouldn’t help put me through college even though you had the means? When you tried to repossess my car after daddy died? When have you _ever_ coddled me?”

“You are the most ungrateful-“

“Mommy?” Henry yawned, standing in the doorway. “Why you yelling?”

Regina immediately softened and went over to him. “Oh, sweetie, did we wake you up? I’m so sorry,” she said softly, brushing his hair back from his forehead. “Do you want to go back to sleep?”

He shook his head. “I’m thirsty.”

“Okay, honey. Let’s go to the kitchen. You can tell your grandma bye after you get a drink. She was just getting ready to leave.”

Cora looked like she wanted to argue, but one sharp look from Regina cut her off. “Yes, well, I’m sorry for waking you Henry. Your mother and I just had a disagreement.”

He shrugged. “Kay.”

After he was settled at the table with a snack and some water, Cora said her goodbyes. She promised Henry she’d visit again soon, or she’d have Regina bring him back to Storybrooke to see her, and he lit up at the prospect. Emma didn’t miss how some of the light dimmed in Regina’s eyes just from thinking about a trip home.

“Goodbye, Miss Swan. I can’t say that I hope to see you again, but it was…nice to meet you.” Cora said the word ‘nice’ like it physically pained her to utter it.

“Yep, see ya,” Emma waved, turning around to check on Henry. Regina smirked at her mother’s angry expression.

“Well, mother, I guess I’ll see you in February.”

Cora’s brow furrowed. “So soon?”

“For my birthday,” Regina replied dryly.

“Hmm. Yes, that.”

Regina just shook her head, no longer having the energy to fight. “Goodbye, Mother,” Regina said quietly. The stress of the day had finally worn her down.

She was reluctantly pulled into a stiff hug by the woman. “I know you think I’m being cruel, but I’m just being realistic. Please consider that,” Cora said quietly.

Regina watched her leave, eyes shining with unshed tears. Emma wrapped her arms around her from behind and Regina sank into her embrace. She turned to give her a quick kiss before they got Henry settled back into bed. It was already 8pm, much later than he normally stayed up, so he was out like a light. Similarly, Regina was also ready to crawl into bed. She seemed emotionally drained after the fight with her mother.

When they had both changed into their pajamas, Regina wrapped herself around Emma’s body, as close as she could get. Emma held her tight, pressing kisses to the crown of her head. Just when she thought the doctor had fallen asleep, she heard her quiet voice in the dark.

“Emma,” Regina says softly. “You were wonderful with Henry today. I think you are his new favorite person.”

“Does that mean I’m replacing your mom? If so, then I’m extra happy about that,” Emma joked.

Regina’s thumb stroked over her cheek. “I mean it. Henry doesn’t usually take to people that quickly. I suppose he might get that from me. But with you…well, it seems you had both of us smitten the moment we met you.”

“Regina,” Emma breathed. She felt her heart swell with an emotion she had never felt so strongly before, that she had just felt the stirrings of long ago. 

“You mean the world to me, Emma. I don’t know how I got so lucky.”

“I’m the lucky one,” she whispered back. “Today, I…I felt like I was with my family for the first time. I’ve never been so happy.”

Regina kissed her then, and Emma tried to convey all the words she wasn’t quite ready to speak into that kiss. But her heart was already sure. She was falling in love with Regina Mills.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know much about kids, or what they eat, or the words they can say at what ages...so I'm just kind of winging it.


End file.
